Resolve
by Valtoress
Summary: Bloom had faced many difficulties, spiraling her into depression. One fateful day, Bloom meets the infamous Valtor. Will he be the key to her happiness? Later Sparxshipping. *I am currently in the process of rewriting this, so some of these chapters will undergo significant changes. So far, I have rewritten the first three chapters.*
1. Chapter 1

The bathroom door of a dorm in Alfea slowly closed. A young girl stared into the bathroom mirror, tying her red hair into a low ponytail. Pale skin. Dark circles. Cracked lips. Dull hair. She barely recognized herself. The confusion, the doubt, the sadness in heart was winning. The girl rolled the sleeves of her shirt up to her elbows. She pulled a small shiny object out of the vanity drawer and closely inspected it before pressing it to her wrist. She barely felt the razor blade as it sliced through her skin.

The blood slowly dripped from the fresh opening on her wrist onto the white tiles of the bathroom. Two more of the ruby red cuts appeared next to that one. An almost cooling sensation went through her as she watched the red liquid flow. Finding out she was adopted... Shadow Haunt… the attack on Andros… Sky's party. The traumatizing memories swarmed through her mind as she slumped against the wall. One of them stood out the most:

 _Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce you all to the love of my life and future queen… Diaspro._

It was funny how a single sentence could hurt so much. The normally bubbly and energetic teen let out a humorless laugh, sliding the blade against her arm another time, finding relief in watching the scarlet drops rise to the surface of her skin.

After what she felt like was enough blood had fallen to the ground, she walked to the sink and cleaned the wounds and muttered a quick spell that hid the scars from the people around her and made the bathroom look as if she had never been there. She would have done more, but her magic was at a low pit because of the cuff that had been placed on her ankle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Faragonda had requested a private meeting with the redheaded fairy. When the girl had arrived, the headmistress had ushered everyone out of her office and locked the door. The headmistress had stared at the girl before finally speaking with a sigh. "Bloom, my dear, I know you have been through a lot, but you can't continue to do things like this."

"Like what, Ms. F?" The redhead had replied innocently.

"Do you know where Riven and his freshman training squad found you?" The girl shook her head, trying to play dumb.

"Hanging off a tree in Gloomy Wood Forest, almost dead." Ms. F replied darkly without hesitation. He carried you to Alfea and informed me of what you were trying to do. "Is it true, Bloom?" The girl's silence gave her the answer. The headmistress took the fairy's arm, noticing her wince as her hand made contact with the fairy's arm. She waved her hand over it, revealing the scars that coated the fairy's arm and wrist. Ms. F took a sharp inhale as she took in the countless scars on Bloom's arm.

"Bloom… we need to do something about this..." She said. "Griselda, I'd like to speak to you." Ms. Faragonda walked out of the room.

The redhead was straining her ears, but wasn't able to hear the conversation going on in the next room. She sat there for what seemed like forever, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs, her leg shaking with anxiety. Finally, the headmistress and Griselda walked back into the office with solemn looks on their faces. The brown-haired woman was carrying what looked like a bracelet in her hand. She walked over to the distressed fairy and quickly placed the thing around her right ankle before she could react. She immediately felt weaker and would have fallen if she was standing.

"What is the thing you put on me?"

"It is a monitor. It is for your protection. It will track your location and prevent you from harming yourself. It will immediately alert us if you try to endanger your life. We have also put a spell on it, limiting your powers so you don't break the cuff or cause yourself harm by having your magic go haywire. This is not…" When Bloom heard that she became lost in her thoughts, paying no mind to whatever the headmistress was going on about.

 _ **What am I going to do without my powers?**_

Almost like she had read her mind, Faragonda spoke, "… You will have access to a small amount of your powers, seeing as fairies cannot survive without their magic." Bloom let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"However, I regret to inform you that with your now low power levels," She said gesturing to the scars on her wrist, "and wounded state, I will have to pull you out of the fight against Valtor until further notice. When I see that you have healed and reached a better state of mind, you will be put back in if the war is still continuing."

"But I can't just sit here while Valtor is running around destroying entire realms!"

The headmistress nodded to Griselda, "Wipe the memories of Valtor. It is the only way we can keep her safe." Griselda stepped up and waved her hand in front of Bloom's head. All of a sudden, the girl felt dizzy like she was going to faint. Her head stopped spinning and she looked at Faragonda.

"I'm sorry, Ms. F, I didn't catch the last part of what you were saying."

"I was telling you that Valtor is now of no concern to you."

"Who's Valtor?"

"No one too important. You need some rest, dear."

"Yes, headmistress Faragonda."

"You are dismissed." The girl got out of the uncomfortable chair and pushed it into the desk and walked away with heavy footsteps, gently closing the door behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **END FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

The teenager heard the dorm door shut with a click, signaling that the girls were here. She quickly composed herself and walked out of the bathroom, plopping down on her messily made bed. She picked up a book from the shelf and began to flip through it, trying to look like she had been reading it the entire time.

"Bye Stella and Bloom, we're going now!" Musa's voice echoed as the remaining girls left to get Musa's hair done so she could meet up with Riven.

"Bye," Bloom and Stella said.

"I still don't understand why Musa didn't let me give her my expert fashion advice." Stella grumbled. Her best friend giggled, even though it was fake.

Stella suddenly grew an overjoyed expression on her face. The redhead took her gaze off the book to look at her best friend.

"Guess who's going on a date tonight?" she said excitedly, digging through the closet, trying to find a dress to wear.

"That's great, Stella! I'm glad you and Brandon could find some time to be together, especially in this crazy year." Bloom said, trying to smile as wide as she could. It wasn't like she didn't care about her friend's happiness, in fact, it was quite the opposite. Bloom was genuinely happy for Stella, but the memories swimming in her head made it difficult for her express her happiness. However, Stella, being able to read her best friend like an open book, dropped the dresses she had been contemplating and rushed over to Bloom.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Stella. I'm fine." The redhead said, her voice cracking. She was biting her cheek to keep the tears at bay.

"You're obviously not fine. I am going to call Brandon right now to cancel." She said walking to grab her phone.

"No, no Stella, it's okay. I am fine, I swear. You don't have to sacrifice your date." I insisted.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"How do I know that you won't get yourself into trouble, seeing your track record." It was then that the redhead opened up a little to her friend. She told her about the tracker and what it did, leaving out the part about how she got it. Stella hugged her. They stayed like that for a while before Bloom got up and took a navy-blue dress from her closet and handed it to Stella with the best smile she could muster.

"This will look amazing on you." They worked together to get Stella ready and after two hours had passed, the blonde had been primped and pampered to the fullest extent. She looked stunning in the flowy navy-blue dress and brown wedges. Her makeup had been done incredibly well, thanks to a little magic and she looked and felt great. She got a text from her boyfriend saying that he was waiting outside.

"You know what, Brandon won't mind. You are coming with us." Stella said, dragging her friend to the door.

"Stella, I'm not going to third wheel your date. I'll be fine, I promise. You crazy kids go have fun."

"Bloom… I'll be back in a couple of hours. Before the protection bubble is activated." Stella said, walking out the door.

As soon as she was gone, Bloom's façade fell. As she thought about the events that had been happening recently, tears pooled in her eyes. She curled up in her bed, hugging Kiko, sobbing into his fur. The freshly made cuts on her wrist stung.

 _ **Good. You deserve the pain. You are a failure as a fairy, a friend, and daughter. You can't even get a decent guy. You aren't good enough for anybody.**_

The thoughts echoing through her head started to make sense and she found herself agreeing with every word. A knock on the door startled her and she jumped. The startled bunny jumped from her arms and onto the section of bed next to her. She got up to answer the door. Much to her dismay, it was none other than the prince of Eraklyon.

"Bloom, we need to talk."

"I don't want to talk, especially to you." She sneered.

She slammed the door in his face, but he stuck his foot in, making it impossible for her to fully close it.

"At least let me explain. Just please hear me out." He said exasperatedly, running a hand through his blonde mane. Bloom sighed and let him in. He sat down on the plush couch, declining her offer for something to drink. She sat down across from him.

"You've got 5 minutes."

"Come on, Bloom."

"Tick tock," she said, tapping at her wrist where a watch would go.

"You're serious? Okay, fine." She gave him a pointed look.

"Look. I know that you are still upset about what happened at the party, and you have every right to be, but I hope you will understand my point of view on it, so here goes: The night before the big announcement, I thought about everything and I felt that nothing in our relationship was fitting in anymore. It felt like you weren't really in love with me anymore. In a sense, I had fallen out of love with you, too, but I had no idea how to come out and say it. When Diaspro came along, I realized that I still had feelings for her and I wanted to pursue them. I will always hold you near my heart, Bloom, but Diaspro is the one I love."

"Sky, I…" She didn't know what to say. She had fallen in and out of love with him for the past few months on and off, but she didn't know how to break it to him. It had still hurt her when Sky had announced that Diaspro was the one for him, and she didn't really understand why. "… I feel the same way. I had fallen out of love with you and I didn't know how to say it to you. I want the best for you, Sky, and I know that you and Diaspro will make each other very happy." She said giving him a tight smile.

"I want you to be happy Bloom. Someday you're going to meet someone who you will mean the world to and I will be there for you, cheering you on."

They ex-couple hugged and said their goodbyes and Sky walked out the door.

"Why was Sky here?" Flora's voice startled the redhead out of her thoughts, probably for the better.

"He came to explain his decision at the party." The girl said solemnly.

"And let me guess, sweetie, you were still affected by it. You still love him, but you know that he is happier with Diaspro." Bloom was thankful that Flora had put into words what she could not.

"Yea."

"Hey guys. Why the long face, Bloom?" Layla asked as she came through the door.

"Layla!" Bloom said. Layla looked at Flora, who took Layla's hand and led her to the room she shared with Bloom. After a bit, the two girls came out and gave Bloom a hug, Flora offering to make tea, but getting declined.

"I'm going to bed." She yawned.

"Good night, sweetie."

"Night, Bloom."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **THE NEXT DAY** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Girls, check out this new device Timmy and I made." Tecna said excitedly.

"What is it?" Stella asked, "and why did you have to wake us up so early on a Saturday to show it to us?"

Ignoring her comment, the fairy of technology said, "It is a device that can block any signal. It is so powerful that it can make a hole through Alfea's protection bubble for about 30 seconds."

"Wow," Musa said. "Do you have any plans for it?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. We are striking back tonight and this will be essential in our plan. Without it, we won't be able to get back into Alfea. I have created an elaborate plot as to how and where we are going to exit the school, how the plan will be carried out, and how we will get back in without alerting anybody."

"You really thought of everything."

"Naturally," she smiled, walking over to her desk and typing furiously on her laptop.

"Wait, girls, who are we striking back against?" They all burst into laughter.

"That's the spirit! That guy doesn't stand a chance!" Bloom didn't say anything after that.

"Hey, Tecna, can I use your device really quickly?"

The pink haired girl didn't even look up from her laptop, "Yes you may, but remember to put it back on its charger."

Bloom walked into the technology fairy's room and picked up the device, attaching it to the ankle cuff and activating it. The device beeped loudly, alerting her that it was finished. The tracker made a strange noise, it's light flickering out. Bloom focused her power. A ball of fire appeared in her hand, before fading from her palm. She tried again, but only sparks came out. Now she couldn't even cast simple spells. She only had enough magic to keep her alive. The tracker had been deactivated, but the spell on it keeping her magic in check had not, leaving her powerless against an attacker.

 _ **Wonderful.**_

She sighed, plugging Tecna's device back into its charger and leaving her room. The other fairy was still busy on her laptop and didn't notice the red-haired girl stalk out of the dorm.

Bloom wandered around Magix to clear her head before heading to the shuttle station. She eyed the departure schedule. It was around noon and the only shuttle leaving for a while was going to Andros. The planet was a beautiful one. The last time she had been there, the crystal waters and elegant landscapes of Layla's home planet were dazzling to her. The aura of the realm had the most amazing calming effect, and calm was exactly what she needed right now.

"Attention… The last shuttle to Andros for the day is now boarding… I repeat, it is now boarding. The next shuttle will not be available unless there is another emergency" A voice on the speaker called out. The ginger fairy took one last glance back at Alfea and got the departing shuttle. Usually the shuttles travelling to the stunning realm were jam packed. Bloom did not understand why she was the only one on the vehicle or why this one was the last one today.

"Are you sure you want to go to Andros, child? You still have a chance to back out. Once the shuttle starts, I can't stop it."

"I'm sure. Why else would I get on?" She snapped at the kind looking middle-aged driver, harsher than she meant to. The man flinched and sighed.

"Alright then, you may have a seat."

About 10 minutes later, the shuttle stopped at the broken-down station on Andros.

"Thank you." Bloom felt a tingling sensation, letting her know that he had cast a protection spell on her.

"Be careful and stay safe." The man said as she got off. The driver was quick to leave. She had barely stepped off the vehicle before he sped off, headed back to the central station. It took Bloom a minute to gather her bearings. She would never had guessed that this was the Andros from before. The water was all dirty and the once peaceful skies now had ominous looking clouds. No wonder the shuttle driver had not wanted to stay. The surroundings made her feel even worse inside. The girl wanted to leave but couldn't. She had been on the last shuttle to Andros for the day and the spell on the cuff restricted her magic, meaning she couldn't transform. She ran a hand through her hair, wondering what happened to Andros to make it look like a wasteland. Bloom half expected the driver to come back and laugh at her for thinking that this was really the resort planet that Layla called home.

She saw a woman hurrying along the streets. She approached her, wanting to ask her what happened here.

"Do you work for Valtor? Please don't hurt me. I have two little children waiting for me at home. Please let me go."

Bloom looked at the retreating woman confused.

 _ **Who's Valtor? Oh well.**_

She walked the streets aimlessly, eventually reaching what looked like a residential area. A door on her left opened and a woman that looked to be about 30 came rushing out. She had sun kissed skin dark brown hair that was cut into a bob at about shoulder length, her bangs reaching her eyebrows. The woman's hazel eyes reflected concern as she ushered Bloom into her house.

"Come in, child. You shouldn't be out where dangerous criminals like Valtor can get you. It isn't safe out here."

 _ **Who is Valtor?! Everyone is so scared of him, but who is he?**_

The woman, who Bloom soon found out was Sara, had a small but cozy home. It was well decorated with an assortment of paintings and decorations scattered around the living room. The woman sat her down on the couch and got her a cup of tea to drink.

 _ **My phone! I can use it to call for help or get a ride. But I don't want to seem rude in front of this nice lady.**_

After about an hour of talking to the kind woman, Bloom stood up. She didn't want to leave the seemingly lonely woman alone, but she didn't want to be a bother.

"I really must be getting home now. Thank you for everything, Ms. Sara."

"Oh please, no need for the formalities. Just call me Sara."

"Okay Sara."

"Be safe dear. Don't stay out too late. Visit soon."

"I will, thank you." And with that, Bloom walked back into the barren streets of Andros, thinking of how to get home. She loved the solitude here because it gave her time to be alone with her thoughts, but she wanted to get off of Andros. It was giving her a strange vibe and she didn't want to be near it anymore. She remembered her phone and quickly pulled it out of her skirt pocket, hoping it wasn't dead. Bloom sighed in relief as she saw the percentage: 40%. She continued to walk, focused only on her phone. She unlocked the device and a wave of notifications flew at her. The grand total: 35 missed calls from the girls, 1 text from Faragonda saying she couldn't locate Bloom on the tracker and that she should report to her office to get the cuff fixed, 1 missed call from a girl named Amelie from her potions class, and 12 new emails. She wondered how she could have missed that many notifications, but her question was soon answered as she noticed the icon alerting her that her phone was on silent. She went into her contacts, calling the first winx girl she saw, which was Stella. The line rang a couple of times…

"You have no service. Please try again when you are in a service provided location."

Bloom angrily hung up. This was Andros, one of the most powerful realms in the magical dimension, how could it not be a service provided location, dammit! She scrolled through her phone, looking for the Wings ridesharing app. Luckily, the service opened and she filed a request for a pickup. Her stomach sank as a notification popped up, telling her that the service had banned all commute to Andros because of the danger there.

 _ **Crap. What is going on?!**_

It was hopeless, Bloom couldn't go home. She shivered, the air was getting colder as the sun went down. As she looked around, she realized that she had no idea where she was. There were multiple openings to caves. The area was darker than the gloomy planet and it chilled the fairy to the bone. It was getting dark and who knew what was out there, so she decided to enter the cave, hoping it would be safer than the deserted streets.

She was expecting total darkness in that cave.

Instead she saw that the caverns had adequate lighting provided by glow crystals that were sprinkled around the walls. As she ventured further in, she began to get tired from the walking she had been doing. Her stomach growled, she hadn't eaten since he had left Sara's house hours ago. She didn't have anything to eat and the nearest restaurant was most likely closed because of whatever was going on. Eventually, she found a cozy looking spot deep in the cave. The sheer exhaustion made her eyelids droop. Bloom nestled herself in the corner until she was comfortable enough to sleep. She shivered from the cold, her eyes closing, the cuts stinging more than ever.


	2. Chapter 2

Shout out to **iamtheblackbird, Anna** and **PrincessBloomSparx** for the reviews, I **really appreciate** you all for reading this thing I call writing and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Don't forget to click that nice, shiny **review** button!

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As she awoke, it took Bloom a moment to gather her bearings. She soon realized that she was in a cave of sorts. Bloom recalled the past night's events, trying to remember how she got there. The cool morning air breezed through the cave, making the redhead shiver. She rubbed her arms, wincing as she accidentally made contact with the cuts on her arm. Her striped crop top and mini-skirt weren't exactly helping to keep out the cold. Neither were the thin thigh-high socks she wore. Another shiver coursed through her and she hugged her arms tighter to her body.

 _ **Why is this planet so cold in the morning?**_

Bloom walked around to try and warm up. Her stomach growled and her head was starting to hurt from hunger. She had zoned out as she wandered around the caves. Bloom reached an area of the cave that was filled with stacks of spell books. She looked at the vast number of books, all from different realms. Some she recognized, but others she had never heard of. Bloom wandered around the books, careful not to disturb anything. She looked in amazement at the various volumes, only to bump right into something, or rather someone. Bloom quickly jumped back in surprise. She looked up at the guy she had bumped into.

 _ **What was a person doing so deep in the caves of Andros?**_

He was a 20ish looking man with long strawberry blond hair. He was dressed in a Victorian looking outfit complete with a long burgundy coat, ruffles, and gloves. The strange outfit suited him.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed as he glared at her.

He grabbed her jaw, turning her head from side to side, inspecting her face. He narrowed his golden eyes. "Who are you and how did you get here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Bloom said angrily, pulling away from him, trying to hold her ground. He leaned closer to her. They were inches apart and she could feel his breath on her face. There was a dangerous aura to him which made her alarmed.

"If anyone is intruding here, it's you, darling." The glint in his eyes made her gulp. As soon as those words had left his lips, he pulled away and held his arms behind his back. Bloom could see his muscles outlined through his coat. She could sense a great deal of power coming from him. He was definitely someone she did not want to piss off, especially without magic. Mysteriously enough, something inside of her was responding to his presence. The red-haired fairy could not understand how a man she had just met was causing so much of a reaction in her.

A rush of adrenaline flowed through her. "You're avoiding the question. Tell me who you are!" The girl demanded, poking him in the chest. He grabbed her wrist.

"I seem to recall asking you first." He stated nonchalantly, not loosening his iron grip on her wrist.

"How about this, I tell you my name and you tell me yours. Deal?"

He smirked, "Deal."

She sighed, "My name is Bloom."

In an extravagant display, he bowed deeply and grabbed her hand, kissing the back of it. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, princess. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Valtor, destined to become the most powerful wizard in the magical dimension."

Bloom couldn't help herself. She giggled at his very formal behavior. He stared at her, raising an eyebrow.

 _ **He acts exactly like he is dressed.**_

"Did you memorize a script or something?" she managed to get out between giggles. She knew she shouldn't have been laughing at him, but she just couldn't help it. His golden eyes flicked over her.

"That's strange. Most people either cower in fear or start flirting." He said.

"Well, I am not most people, and besides, you're not that attractive." She said.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you, princess?"

"Would you stop calling me princess, because I am not one."

"As you wish, princess"

"You're horrible."

"So I've been told by many people." He said, smirking.

They stood there observing each other until Bloom's stomach growled, breaking the silence.

He raised an eyebrow at her before taking her elbow like a gentleman and leading her to the exit of the cave. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" she said, trying to keep up with his fast pace.

"To a place." He said. She muttered something under her breath as he led her into the city.

They eventually reached downtown Andros. Bloom noticed that the normally densely populated realm was nearly deserted. A few brave souls had rushed out for quick errands in the businesses that were still open. As she looked around, she realized that they had arrived at a small café. A small bell on the door announced their entrance. The man behind the counter turned around, ready to take their order. He looked to be in his late 20s, and a bit mean. She noticed the name tag that read Duman. Valtor stepped up and ordered two muffins and two coffees and went to sit down at a booth. Bloom followed him, giving an 'ahem!' to catch his attention.

"You didn't have to do that." She exclaimed, sitting down across from him.

"And let you starve? Contrary to popular belief, princess, I have a heart." He said nonchalantly.

Bloom huffed, confused. "What do you mean, 'contrary to popular belief.'?" He smirked.

"I mean exactly what I said."

He was so secretive, it began to make Bloom worry. "How helpful," she said, masking her fear of him.

Valtor only rolled his eyes at her before making a spell book appear from the air. He opened it and started flipping through the pages. Bloom looked over his shoulder at the text. She recognized it immediately as dark magic, the powerful kind. He was reading a volume of power increasing spells. Bloom had become familiar with powerful dark magic from her experience in Shadow Haunt. She could still use it, but it would severely drain her. Also, she could not perform any dark magic spells without alerting the tracker, and she did not particularly want Faragonda showing up, wondering why she was doing dark magic. She decided to play dumb instead.

"What are you reading?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Ugh, why are you so secretive? Now I see why you have no friends!" She taunted him playfully. His eyes narrowed and Bloom felt that she had hit a nerve. He was about to say something, but the guy named Duman shouted, "Hey Ginger, your order is ready!"

Valtor got up from the booth and paid for the food. He returned, setting a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin in front of her. He sat down and continued to flip through the spell book as she picked apart the muffin, separating the blueberries from the muffin. She ate about half of it and took a couple of sips of coffee before looking at the man sitting in front of her.

"Valtor?"

"Hmm?" He asked looking up from his book.

"Sorry if I said something that offended you."

"It's okay princess." he said, continuing to flip through the spell book.

"Why did that guy call you ginger? Your hair isn't even that red." She asked. He finally looked up from the spell book and smirked at her.

"Have you heard of this thing called a disguise spell?" He asked. Bloom got quiet. She was very familiar with disguise spells: she used them on her cuts every day.

"Of course you haven't. You must be from Alfea." He said after a moment.

"There's something intriguing about you, you know that?" He leaned forward.

"And what is that?" she said nervously, trying to put some space in between them.

"It takes a great deal of power to see through the type of disguise spell I am using, but what's strange is that I don't sense any power coming from you. Why is that?" He had heard from the Trix about the Winx from their endless complaining. If she was on his side, he could train her and have her help him.

Bloom debated saying anything.

"Well, umm, you see, mymagicisrestricted." She said quickly.

"I didn't catch that, princess."

"I can't use magic." She repeated slowly.

Valtor smirked, "Well, we'll have to fix that minor inconvenience."

"I'm an inconvenience?" He ignored her comment and started to speak.

"Tell me, Bloom, what is it that you want more than anything?"

"I want to find my birth parents. It's always been a dream of mine." she said with a dreamy smile on her face.

"What if I told you that I can make that dream a reality?"

"You can, really?!" Bloom said happily. She felt a little wary, but finding her parents was her dream. Valtor nodded.

"But only if you agree to do something for me."

She blinked at him, "What is that 'something', exactly?"

"Always the interrogator, are we, princess? But if you must know, you will help me gather spells from various realms and become even more powerful, and if or when the time comes, you will fight on my side." He said with a glint in his eye. "Of course, if you decide to join me, you will have your pick to any spell we acquire."

She looked hesitant. "I don't know. From what I have seen, everyone fears you. I don't know if I want to join you. My friends would not approve."

"Tell me, princess, do your friends choose what happens in your life. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that is how a team works. With me, you would be an equal, not a puppet…"

Bloom looked at the ground, as if her shoes were the most interesting thing in the world. She realized that she had zoned out and that he was talking.

"… and you don't have to worry about the destruction of realms. I promise that as long as you are working with me, we will cause as little damage to realms as possible. I'm sure you have your doubts. You don't have to be seen with me and at the end of this, we can walk our own ways: you with your parents and me with my recognition. So, what do you say, princess?" He held his hand out for her to shake.

Alarm bells were going off inside her head. Bloom had never seen this guy before, and she felt that it was a bit rash to just join his side and run around the realms collecting spells, potentially having to battle the people she knew and loved. She knew it was safer to just say no, but he had a point. She wouldn't even have to see Sky again. Her friends and Faragonda couldn't have control over her any longer, it was time for her to start living. She had dreamed of meeting her birth parents and no one at Alfea had any idea how to do it.

As they said on Earth, 'Go big or go home' and Bloom was not going home.

After a moment of hesitation, she took his hand carefully and they shook on their agreement. He smirked.

Bloom went back to picking at her muffin. There was something about him that pulled her towards him. She just felt… connected to him. Bloom knew that he was not exactly the protagonist, but there was something so alluring about him. Bloom had started to think. There was no way that Valtor was a common name, so he had to be the guy everyone was so afraid of, but the way he was behaving now made Bloom wonder if people were overexaggerating when they said he caused this much panic and ruin. Was he the one who had done this to the once beautiful Andros. Her emotions were already so mixed. She had agreed to help this guy become more powerful and to fight on his side. She knew how the Winx leapt into danger, and she didn't want to end up fighting them. On the other hand, she felt elated to finally be away from all of the stressors in her life. She didn't know what to do or what to think.

He put the now empty cup down, staring intently at her. "Earlier, you mentioned that you couldn't use magic. Maybe we can resolve that issue now. What do you say?" Bloom looked up to meet his gaze.

She knew that it would be better for her to just go along with his plans. "Fine."

He stood up before offering his hand to help her to her feet. She took it and got up. Valtor headed towards the door. Bloom followed him, walking with him into the cool Andros morning air.

"Where are we going?"

"If you're going to work with me, I thought that you might like to know where the hideout is."

They walked in silence until they reached the hideout. It was a small cavern hidden deep in the underground systems of Andros, deeper than anyone dared to go, making it the perfect place for a lair. Upon further inspection, she noticed that there was a 'back door' which had a one-way door most likely leading up to the surface.

Bloom stepped further inside, staring in awe at the assortment of spells he had collected. Beyond the books and scrolls (which were surprisingly very neatly organized), there was a desk and chair. In the corner, she saw what appeared to be a portal and a small viewing window near it.

 _ **I've seen one of these. Faragonda has one. She uses it to spy on a person of her choosing, but it only works if that person is on Alfea's campus. That probably means she had been watching me the entire time before she called me into her office.**_

"Come here." He said. She walked to the center of the cavern where he was standing. "Do you want me to try to get your magic back or do you want some of my power?"

"Do you know how to remove a magic restrictor spell?"

"Yes." Valtor said hesitantly.

After a pause, he said, "And you're sure about this? A spell like that will hurt and could have some pretty nasty side affects."

Bloom said with a tight smile, "I want to try this. If the spell doesn't work, we will figure something else out."

Why was this redhead so stubborn? He sighed, "Stand right here."

"Are you ready?" She nodded. The redhead saw a flicker of something pass through his eyes, but it disappeared before she could identify it. He muttered a spell underneath his breath and Bloom watched as the aura around him turned dark, showing his true negative energy, as he channeled his magic. Before she could react, she saw a blinding light and then her whole body was on fire. It felt like she was being stabbed over and over again. Bloom screamed out, but of course there was nothing anyone could do. The pain was too much and she felt herself slipping into darkness, but she resisted, fighting to stay awake. Just as she was about to give in, she felt a rush of magic race through her veins, slightly alleviating the horrific pain. The glow around her and Valtor faded and she was lowered to the ground. Her head was pounding like crazy and the world around her was spinning. She tried to take a step, but as soon as she moved, her body screamed in protest, causing her legs to wobble. Valtor was quick to act, grabbing her waist to steady her.

"You should rest," He said. She shook her head vigorously, knowing that the nightmares would come back as soon as her eyes closed. Valtor said something, but Bloom was too out of it to tell what it was. She felt his gloved fingers press against the nape of her neck and a welcoming darkness overcame her. She slumped against him. Valtor recited a spell and the redhead was teleported to the bed.

She had nightmares about Sky, Faragonda, and the Trix. The worst ones, however, were about her friends. One by one, they all left her when they found out what she was doing. She had nightmare after nightmare, but she couldn't wake up because of the sleeping spell Valtor had put on her.

 **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TIME SKIP: 4 MONTHS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 **Evening:**

The nightmares had come every night. Since she had her magic back, she would cast silencing spells on herself every night so she wouldn't wake Valtor up from across the cave with her screams.

"Valtor? Can I…" Bloom trailed off, knowing that the answer would be a flat out 'no'.

He looked up from the book he was reading, "Can you what? Go on."

"I was going to ask if I could go for a walk. I need to clear my head."

"Go, but be careful. If you need help, call me. I already programmed my number into your phone. Don't stay out too late, we still need to work out our plan." Valtor was, well, he was Valtor. They had gotten closer to each other. His plans to steal the magic of the realms they visited were not to Bloom's liking and she had to constantly remind herself why she was doing this. Valtor had an aura of mystery surrounding him, which intrigued her, but at the same time made her wary of his capabilities, seeing as he was already such a powerful sorcerer. Although Bloom knew small things about him such as his likes and dislikes, but not nearly enough. She barely knew anything about his past and she didn't even know what his main source of power was. He, on the other hand, knew nearly everything about her, which was scary, seeing their circumstances.

Bloom had proved to be a different case altogether. Now that she had agreed to his plans and was by his side, they would be unstoppable. These past four months, he had been training her in magic and fighting and they would start their plot soon.

She was out of the cavern before he had a chance to change his mind. Bloom stepped into the chilly air of Andros. The realm was rebuilding, and people began to walk the streets again since there was no activity from Valtor. As she walked, she noticed that more businesses had reopened because of Valtor's inactivity and more people were out and about. Thoughts and memories were clouding her head and she could not focus.

Although her magic was back, it was highly unpredictable. There were remnants of the spell Faragonda had put on her, making her power leave her at the most random moments. Sparks of leftover dark magic would try to take over, only to be blocked by the spell. Whenever this happened, Bloom always felt dizzy, like she was going to pass out.

She passed a bar that was open, remembering something Andy used to say, ' **Sometimes it's better to drown your sorrows in alcohol'** Bloom decided that a drink or two was what she needed and headed inside.

Bloom ordered a Fairy Dust (aka the most potent alcohol in that bar). She winced as the burn went down her throat. It was relaxing in a way and she swallowed more down. Before she knew it, Bloom was on her 4th glass. She couldn't think clearly anymore and the feeling was liberating. A guy with shoulder length blonde hair walked up to her and asked if she wanted to dance. She stood up and they walked to the light up floor and started to dance. The guy looked oddly familiar, but Bloom's foggy mind couldn't remember who he was.

 _ **He's not as hot as Valtor. Woah, where did THAT come from?!**_

The guy held her close and grinded against her. Bloom's head was spinning, so she grabbed onto him to steady herself. As the blond ground against her body, she grabbed him tighter, trying to get him to back off, but not push him away. It felt so good to not have anything to worry about.

Bloom got carried away by the crowd of people and ended up dancing next to a group of girls who looked awfully familiar. After a while, she decided that she needed some air so she stepped out of the bar. There was another girl having a smoke and looking at her phone. Bloom saw that it was nearly one in the morning. That sobered her up just a little, but not enough for her to really care. She had left the cavern at about 10.

 _ **Oh well.**_

She headed back inside and sat down in one of the barstools. The same guy approached her, reaching out his hand to her. She took it and he led her over to a quiet part of the bar. He pushed her up against the wall, kissing her deeply. She was too drunk to care about the consequences, so she kissed him back. He kissed her neck sloppily before coming back up to capture her lips again. She let out a low moan.

"Want to go upstairs, beautiful?"

"Mmmhmmm," she said, putting her arms around his neck, not really in a sensible state of mind. He took it as a 'yes' and pulled her closer to him. They started walking towards the upstairs rooms before the guy was violently yanked back. She saw him lying on the floor with a black eye. Bloom looked around for the attacker, but came up empty. She felt an arm wrap around her waist and a familiar smoky, herbal scent enveloped her.

"You're mine." She thought he said that, but she didn't catch exactly what he whispered to her. She may have been drunk, but she could tell that he was Valtor. He led her out the door of the bar.

 _ **Damn, Valtor can throw a punch.**_

They exited the bar. Her legs wobbled as she walked, so she stayed close to Valtor so she wouldn't fall flat on her face.

"Hey, Valtor. What brings you here?" she asked in a cheery voice.

"Why didn't you come back earlier? I thought something happened to you."

Bloom told him about the clearing her head thing, but not the problem with her powers.

"I needed to clear my head."

"So you went to a bar?"

"It wasn't my original intention, but yes."

Speak of the devil. Bloom felt her Dragon Fire draining and coldness of the dark magic. Her leg tingled, alerting her that what was left of Faragonda's spell was taking effect. Combined with the alcohol in her system, the nausea and lightheadedness from power loss hit her like a wave. She took a step forward, but lost her balance and twisted her ankle.

 _ **Hopefully Valtor didn't notice.**_

She took another step, wincing in pain as she put weight on her ankle.

"Are you okay?"

"Yep. I'm perfectly fine." She said with a nervous laugh.

"I can see you limping."

"I'm not limping. I'm fine, see?" She tried and failed to hide the pain that shot through her ankle.

He put an arm on her back and the other behind her knees and effortlessly picked her up, holding her close to him.

"Valtor put me down, I can walk!" Bloom slurred.

"Not with that ankle."

"I can too! Now put me down." Bloom protested.

"Like hell, princess." Bloom could tell that he was smirking. Bloom didn't know if it was the alcohol, but she was feeling braver, so she hooked her arms around his neck and pushed herself closer to him. She could have sworn she felt his hold tighten on her into something that felt possessive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **AT ALFEA** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the girls entered Faragonda's office, the headmistress noticed Stella's red rimmed eyes. The other girls were also worried about their friend, but Bloom's disappearance had hit the Solarian princess the hardest.

"Good afternoon, Winx. I have called you into my office to discuss your missing friend. It has been 4 months, and we haven't been able to find Bloom. However, I have found a lead on her whereabouts, but I am afraid that it doesn't look very good. Her last known location is on a realm that Valtor has taken over, Andros. I have pinpointed her approximate location. The last place her magic was picked up was the shuttle station. I found out from one of the drivers that she got on the last shuttle to Andros. There hasn't been travel there for the past two months. Without her magic, she couldn't have gotten far, so she is most probably on Andros right now. It is very dangerous there and I want you to go find her and bring her back to safety."

"Yes, headmistress."

"When do we leave?" Tecna asked.

"Right now. Are you ready?"

"Yes headmistress." Layla said.

"We'll do it." Stella said, eager to find her best friend. "For Bloom."

"For Bloom!" The girls chorused.

"I have talked to Saladin as well, and the specialists will meet you there."

With a snap of the headmistress' fingers, the girls were teleported to the realm of Andros.

They met up with the specialists, scouring the streets for any sign of Bloom, but coming up empty. They soon arrived at a bar that was open.

"I don't know about you guys, but I need a drink." Riven said.

"Sure, let's go." Musa said.

They headed inside and ordered their drinks. Sky saw a redhead that reminded him of Bloom and walked toward her.

"Let's dance, pretty girl." he said to her confidently. She looked exactly like Bloom, no wait, she was Bloom. Sky mentally slapped himself for his stupidity. He was kind of surprised when she stood up and grabbed his arm. Sky led her to the dance floor and danced with her. Truth be told, even though he was re-engaged to Diaspro, he couldn't make up his mind between the two girls. He wanted to enjoy the time with Bloom and hopefully convince her to be with him. He held her close to him and ground against her and felt her put her arms around his neck.

 _ **She's enjoying this. I knew she missed me.**_

However, they were soon separated by the mass of people dancing.

"Damn you all." He thought. Sky wanted Bloom, even though she had never let him have his way with her during their relationship. He didn't want to do it against her will, though. Sky knew that Bloom was drunk and that this was the perfect time to seduce her. He looked around for the beautiful redhead, but lost her in the crowd.

The Winx club had decided to dance as well, and they were also pretty surprised when a girl that looked exactly like Bloom started dancing near them. When she realized that that was her best friend, Stella started to walk to her, but Bloom had walked off the floor and the crowd had closed the gap between them, making Stella lose sight of her best friend. She and the girls struggled through the mass of people. Stella was using every drop of willpower not to hit the people with a Solarian Sunblast so they would get out of her way. She finally made it through and caught a flash of red hair. She headed towards it, waving the girls over. What she saw shocked her. Sky had Bloom pushed up against the wall and was making out with her. She was responding to his every move.

"Do you want to go upstairs, beautiful?" Stella wanted to throw up. Sky was an engaged man, but here he was, making out with Bloom. She hadn't really trusted the blond-haired prince, but didn't want to say anything that might hurt her best friend. It didn't take a genius to tell that Bloom was drunk and Sky was trying to seduce her in her intoxicated state.

"Mmmhmmm," she slurred. Stella guessed that Sky took it as a 'yes' and took her hand. The princess of Solaria wanted nothing more than to go and beat the Eraklyonian prince to a pulp. She hated Diaspro, but she wouldn't wish this type of fiancé on anyone. She was too distracted by the scene playing out in front of her to notice a man with spiky dark brown hair stalk in. Sky took Bloom's hand and started walking towards the upstairs rooms before Sky was violently yanked back. The guy punched Sky and the next thing Stella knew, Sky was lying on the floor with a black eye. The guy wrapped his arm around Bloom. Stella heard him mumble something to Bloom before he led her to the door.

The girls had finally fought their way through the hoard of people and ran to Stella's side.

"Yo, what happened, Stell? You look like you saw a ghost." Musa said, snapping her out of the trance she was in.

"Sky made a move on a drunk Bloom." She gestured to Sky's limp form. "A guy walked in and punched Sky before leaving with Bloom."

"You know what this means, girls. Let's follow them."

They all went through the door. Tecna pulled out a device that would allow them to hear any conversation the two were having. Tecna cast the spell to activate it, and the device buzzed to life. The quality was not very good, seeing as the device was a prototype, but it was good enough that the girls could make out some of what they were saying.

Static' When did you get here?' she slurred.

"Why didn't you come back earlier? I thought something happened to you."

'I needed to clear my head.' Static..

'So you went to a bar?'

'It wasn't my original intention, but yes.'

Static.

'Are you okay, princess?'

'Yep. I'm perfectly fine.' Static.

'I can see you limping.'

'I'm not limping. I'm fine, see.'

Static 'put me down, I can walk!' Bloom slurred.

'Not with that ankle.'

'I can too! Now put me down.' Static.

'Like hell, princess.' Static…

Their conversation dissolved into complete static, meaning that the device did not have enough power to continue to listen in.

"Well, at least we know Bloom didn't leave with a complete stranger." Flora said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, she obviously knows him, so why didn't she tell us that she was leaving, especially when she was with a guy." Layla said.

"We didn't even get to hear the guy's name… there was too much static." Stella pouted.

"Well, one thing's for sure: we need some answers. I say we follow them." Musa said.

"Let's go, girls." Tecna said. The girls caught up to Bloom and the guy, trailing behind them. Tecna and Layla walked ahead while the other girls walked behind them, trying and failing to act natural.

"Faragonda said to find them. I'm going to put a tracking spell on Bloom so that we don't lose her" Tecna thought. She silently cast a spell and watched as it hit the redhead. The girl didn't seem to notice.

"Anyone up for a bird's eye view?" Stella asked.

They transformed and flew high above them. Stella squealed, "They are so cute!" The guy was carrying Bloom bridal style. She had her arms around his neck. They looked so peaceful. Flora had not said anything during this whole ordeal, as she felt that it was wrong to intrude on them like this.

"Oh, I know what we should do!" Stella said. The girls gathered around her.

"Okay, so you all have heard about my big princess ball. It's going to be a masquerade, the most romantic type of ball, if you catch my drift."

"What are you playing at, Stella?" Tecna said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, since you all ran away when I mentioned helping with my party, I picked Bloom as my victim, err assistant, at my princess ball. All I'm saying is that we should get Bloom to bring that guy and I make her look irresistible and BAM, they're together. They'll start dating and then they'll get married and then…"

"How about we focus on the 'get them to meet up at the ball' and maybe we can get to the 'I don't hate you, let's get coffee' phase of their relationship." Musa interjected.

"She's right." Tecna said.

"Ugh fine. I WON'T play matchmaker. Yet."

Flora let out a yawn. "I'm tired. Maybe we should head back.

"To be continued, girls." Musa said.

Stella teleported them back to their dorms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Bloom's POV** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 **Midnight:**

The door to the Winx dorm creaked open. Almost silent footsteps quickly crossed through the common room and to the first room on the right. Careful not to disturb the brunette sleeping across the room, the intruder gathered all of her belongings and stuffed them into a suitcase. She scribbled out a quick note that read:

 _Dear Girls,_

 _I am writing this to say goodbye. I am leaving Alfea and I don't know if I am coming back. It isn't because of any of you. I just need a break from it all. I want you to know that I love you all. You made me feel like I truly belonged, you were with me through thick and thin, and for that I am eternally grateful. I will miss having you around. Don't let the me hold you back. If you ever need anything, call me._

 _I love you all. XOXO,_

 _Bloom_

 _P.S. I have included a portion of the Dragon's Flame in this letter for each of you. Consider it a token to remember me by._

Bloom sniffed back a few tears as she finished writing. In truth, she didn't give them Dragon Fire as a token. She gave it to them to ensure at least one guardian to the flame in case something happened to her. The girls had become like a second family to her and it pained her to have to leave Alfea. Hopefully they would forgive her if they found out the truth about everything. She folded the note and placed it on the coffee table where she knew the girls would find it. She blew each of the sleeping girls a kiss and stepped out of the dorm. As she walked through Alfea's courtyard for the last time, she looked around, remembering all of the memories she had. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she thought of the girls. She would miss everything, even the witches that had tried to kill her so many times. With one last longing look behind her, she stepped through the protection bubble and into the pouring rain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Before I get started, I have a few shout-outs to make:**

 **Iamtheblackbird:** Thanks so much for your support! It really means a lot to me. Their bond will continue to grow, though not immediately. :)

 **Andria:** Thank you so much for continuing to read this! :)

 **Mia:** Thank you! I'm glad to see that so many people love Bloom and Baltor/Valtor! :)

 **Gamer-chan:** Thank you so much! :)

 **And now, without further ado: Here is chapter 3!**

The cool rain was actually pretty relaxing, so Bloom did not put up a protection spell, instead choosing to think about all that was going on.

There was no way she was going to miss Stella's party, whether she liked it or not. Valtor needed spells from Solaria and the best time to get them was from Solaria. The only person she could truly pour her heart out to was Andy, but she hadn't talked to him ever since Shadow Haunt. Maybe it was time to pay him a visit. It was 2 AM in Magix, so it would be around 2 PM in Gardenia.

Without a second thought, she teleported to Andy's doorstep. Once she got there, she cast a drying spell on herself so that she would not be soaked to the bone.

She knocked on the door twice before it opened. Andy had not aged a day since she had seen him last and he let her in immediately.

"So, how's Alfea?" Andy knew the basics of everything and he had even met the girls and the specialists.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about."

"I'm listening." He said.

Bloom told him everything, from start to finish. After she was done, he just hugged her like the protective brother-from-another-mother he was. That was only the calm before the storm. Now that he had some form of reassurance that she was alright, he started his rant.

"You hurt yourself?! I should kill the bastard who caused all of this!"

"Andy, it's okay. I'm fine, I promise." She reassured him, casting a calming spell on him.

"You just said that you are helping a guy who escaped Omega run around the dimension and steal magic. Who are you and what have you done with Bloom?"

"Andy, it is just harmless borrowing without permission."

"I'm not sure about this. From what you told me, there is no way this Valtor guy doesn't have an ulterior motive."

"This is a chance of a lifetime, Andy! I have a chance at finding my parents. My actual birth parents! Don't get me wrong, Mike and Vanessa are incredible, but these are my biological parents we are talking about."

He sighed, "I get it, Bloom, but I still don't think this is safe. I want you to be safe and happy, and I don't know about all of this."

"What can I do to prove to you that I am perfectly fine?"

"You mentioned Stella's masquerade ball. Take me with you. I want to see for myself what you got yourself into."

"Fine, but I don't exactly want to show myself to everyone yet."

"Right, right, because you just left, but it's a masquerade, Bloom."

"Not many people have hair as red as mine."

"Then change it." He replied.

"I don't want to use a spell. People could detect it." The fairy retorted.

"Then dye it, genius."

"Right, but what color. I don't want any shade of red." Bloom said, turning around in a circle, showing off her hair.

"Hmm, you have blue eyes and fair skin. I'm leaning towards blonde." Bloom immediately thought of Stella.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Blonde it is."

"I've always wanted to see what you look like as a blondie." He laughed at the death glare she gave him, "Let's go grab a box of dye. I'll get the keys." They got into Andy's car and he started to drive.

"I forgot how bad a driver you were, Andy."

"Haha, very funny, I drive perfectly fine." He said, turning towards her.

"Eyes on the road, idiot! I would rather not die in your car!" She shouted as he swerved to avoid crossing the yellow line.

They soon reached the store and Bloom punched Andy's shoulder, "I am never getting in that death trap again!"

"How are going to get back, hmm?"

"I'm driving."

"Not if I can help it." Andy said.

Bloom gave him an evil grin, "It would be a shame if your arm suddenly broke."

"Fine, fine, you can drive." He said.

They walked into the store and headed for the hair dye.

"They have so many," Andy said.

"Let's see. I want one that will last but will wash out. Do you think I should go with a regular blonde or a platinum blonde?"

"Regular blonde. Definitely regular blonde."

"Okay. Let's go."

They got in line to checkout and waited for their turn. Bloom paid for the dye and the cashier bagged it. As she was handing her the receipt, she said, "You two are a really cute couple."

Both Bloom and Andy turned red, "Oh no, we're not dating. He is like a brother to me."

"Oh. My apologies, then." She said.

"It's okay." Andy said.

They walked out and Bloom got into the driver's seat, putting the key in the car. The drive back was much smoother and painless than the ride to the store.

"I'm dying my hair now, Andy." Bloom said.

"'Kay. I'm ordering pizza." He replied.

"Make sure it is extra cheese." Bloom said as she headed for the bathroom.

30 minutes later, she came out of the bathroom, her hair now blonde.

"Woah. You are unrecognizable."

"As long as I don't look ugly."

"What dress and mask are you wearing?" Andy knew fashion. He had taste almost as good as Stella's. Almost.

"This one." Bloom said, holding up an old strapless black gown.

Andy grimaced, "No, no, no. This won't do at all."

"Okay then, want to take me shopping?"

"Okay, but only if it will get you to cheer up. You have been really depressed lately."

"I don't make any promises, but I'll try." She replied.

"Come on, dork." He said to his best friend.

They arrived at the mall where Andy helped Bloom pick her dress. It was a strapless purple floor length dress with a lace corset and tulle skirt. It was connected by a thin golden band on the waist.

"This is the one." Andy said as Bloom stepped out of the fitting room.

"Finally, Ms. Diva had made her decision," Bloom taunted him.

"Shut up. You know you love the dress. Now to pick a mask." He said. "Here." Andy said, handing the mask to her. It was the same color as the dress with gems on the sides.

"You are ready."

"Thanks, Andy." Bloom said.

"No problem, sis."

"What are you wearing?"

"I'm getting a tux with a black mask."

"Cool."

The both paid for their outfits and left the store. In all honesty, Bloom was feeling better than she had for the past few months. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her and she could finally breathe.

"I'm spending the night at Mike and Vanessa's. See you tomorrow so we can head for the ball."

"Good night, Bloom."

Bloom headed to her adoptive parents' house and rang the doorbell.

"Do I know you?" A half-asleep Mike said.

"Hello to you, too dad." Bloom said.

"Oh, Bloom. Come in, come in."

"Who's at the door, Mike?" Vanessa called from inside.

"Come see for yourself." He said back.

"Honestly, Mike-," Her words were cut short when she saw Bloom.

"Bloom, it's nice to see you. What have you done with your hair?"

"You too, mom. It's just a bit of dye." She said.

"Now it's 'just a bit of dye'. Next thing you know, it will be 'just a tattoo' and 'just 4 piercings'"

"Mom" Bloom said.

"I'm messing with you. I know that you wouldn't get a tattoo or unreasonable piercings." She laughed before pulling Bloom in for a hug.

"How long are you staying?"

"Just for the night."

"I wish you would stay longer, though."

"I'll come back for a visit."

"Okay. Now go up to your room and get ready for bed."

"Okay. Thanks for letting me stay."

Bloom brushed her teeth and laid down in her old bed. Her thoughts strayed to the Winx and all the people in Magix. She would miss all of them, but she was working with Valtor now. Thankfully, she dozed off before her thoughts became too dark. However, with sleep came the nightmares that plagued her mind. She woke up screaming and Mike came running to check on her.

"You're okay. It was just a nightmare," he said, hugging her.

"I'll be fine, dad. You can go back to bed."

"Okay, but if you need me, wake me up." He yawned before walking out.

Bloom took a few deep breaths before casting a sleeping spell, making herself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

The sunlight streaming through the window woke Bloom up. She had forgotten how bright it got in her room. She picked up her phone which had 2 messages: One from Stella and one from -surprisingly-Valtor.

She opened the one from Valtor first.

 **V:** Are you ready to head for the ball?

 **B:** Is it okay if I meet you there? I have blonde hair and am going to be wearing a purple dress and matching mask.

 **V:** Lots of blonde girls are going to be wearing purple dresses.

 **B:** But not all of them have the Dragon Fire. What do you look like?

 **V:** I have short brown hair and I am going to be wearing a tux and black mask.

 **B:** Okay, sounds good. See ya.

Next, she opened the one from Stella:

 **S:** _Are you still coming to my ball?_

 **B:** _I wouldn't miss it for the world, Stell._

 **S:** _You're the best Bloom! Now, tell me… what do you think of my dress?_ [1 attached picture]

 **B:** _It's gorgeous, Stella! Purple is definitely your color!_

 **S:** _Seriously?_

 **B:** _Yes_

 **S:** _Thank you, ma Cherie. Now don't be late for my princess ball._

 **BLOOM'S POV:**

I put my phone away and started to get ready. I put on the dress, using magic to tie the strings of the corset. Next, I started on my makeup, nearly poking myself in the eye with my mascara brush. I stared at myself in the mirror after applying lip gloss and decided that I looked presentable. Carefully, I put the mask on before heading to the door.

Andy was waiting outside on his porch and I walked over to him.

"Ready to go, big bro?" I asked him.

"Let's do this, little sis." He said.

I used my magic and teleported us to the gates of the Solarian Royal Palace and we walked into the magnificent ballroom. It seemed as if the entire dimension was attending (which it probably was). Andy held the back of my arm so we wouldn't be separated by the crowd. A loud voice echoed throughout the ballroom, silencing all of the side conversations.

"Welcome to Solaria! Thank you all for attending tonight. Now, without further ado, I am pleased to introduce the belle of the ball, our very own Princess Stella!" The crowd cheered as Stella stepped down the spiral staircase leading to the ballroom. She was wearing a purple dress and very similar to mine. The only difference was that the skirt on hers was bedecked with thousands of jewels. It looked absolutely stunning on her.

"Go Stell!" I yelled.

As she neared the bottom of the steps, her father held out his arm for her to take so they could open the ball. Many other couples joined them on the floor and the crowd in the center thinned.

Andy and I found our way to the edge of the room.

"Andy, can you cover for me?"

"Why do you – oh right. Go get the things you came for, I'll follow you and keep watch."

"Thanks Andy. When I'm done, I need to go find him."

"Okay. Now, let's go while the coast is still clear."

I walked through the mass of people and found my way to the library without being noticed thanks to an invisibility spell Valtor had taught me. I could sense Andy walking a bit behind me and continued walking towards the library.

I wanted to punch someone as I took in the size of the library. It was going to take forever to find these books.

"I know that look," Andy said, startling me, "You might as well get started or your work will never get done."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right."

"I'm going back to the ballroom to keep an eye out if someone walks towards you."

"Sounds good." I said as he headed towards the door.

 _Finally! I found them!_

I quickly took the books off the shelves and used a spell to transport them to Valtor's hideout. Lately I had been feeling really down, but I couldn't let it show, or people would just start attacking with questions. Unbiddenly, my thoughts went to last year.

 _What I have learned since last year: Words hurt; they tear you apart like knives. But sometimes: Actions rip you apart more. And when you are in pieces, you can't let people know because they won't do anything. They only see what they want to see and that is the perfect, angelic, flawless leader of the Winx. They see that she is an invincible machine that has a perfect life and there is no way that she has any negative emotions. They only see the outer shell that hides the broken girl who is ready to die._

Tears pooled behind my eyes, but I fought them back.

 _Okay, Bloom. The less these people know, the better. Put on your brave mask and show them the perfect girl they want to see. I should go get Andy and find Valtor._

After giving myself a mental pep- talk, I got out of the library. Trying my best not to slouch, I went back towards the ballroom.

I found Andy in the corner of the ballroom talking to some girl. From what I could see, she had pink hair with yellow tips at the front. They seemed pretty close, so I decided to let them have their time together. Just because I wasn't with somebody didn't mean that Andy couldn't be.

As I looked around the ballroom, the more I noticed the amount of people there were. It suddenly felt stuffy and my head began to spin. I needed to get out of there.

As soon as I got outside, I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself. There were some people, mostly couples out here, so I wasn't the only one not in the ballroom. Over to my right, I saw someone that looked like Stella with some guy who looked like Brandon. Upon further inspection, I found that the guy wasn't Brandon, so I knew that she couldn't be Stella.

 **VALTOR'S POV:**

When I arrived at the ball, it was already in full swing. I wasn't used to being in such noisy areas, so the volume was getting to me. I spied a drink table and decided that some alcohol would definitely take the edge off. After all, Solaria was known for its Sun Ray, a potent drink. After I downed the drink, I leaned against the wall, watching the guests twirling around the ballroom and found myself thinking of Bloom.

 _I should find her. She told me she is blonde and is wearing a purple dress._

I focused on the Dragon Flame connection and felt 6 different sources of the Dragon Flame.

 _This must be the alcohol. Last time I checked, the only people with the flame were Bloom and myself._

I tried to focus the source onto one location, but my efforts were in vain. I could still feel 5 different sources. I decided to go for the one nearest to me and found a blonde girl wearing a really sparkly purple dress and matching mask. I could feel the Dragon Fire radiating from her.

 _This must be Bloom._

She looked up at me and I smirked at her. "Dance with me, princess?" I asked, bowing. She giggled and took my hand as I led her closer to the center of the ballroom. I pulled her close and she put her arms around my neck, leaning into me. She definitely had had a few drinks.

As the orchestra finished the song, she said, "I need some air. Can we go outside?"

"Sure thing, darling." I said, putting an arm around her waist. The night air was cool and I noticed that many people were out here.

Once we were a good distance from the ballroom, she turned to face me and hooked her arms around my neck. "You look stunning, snookums." She said.

"What ever do you mean?" I said with a playful smirk. I chalked it up to the alcohol. I didn't think Bloom thought more than professionally of me, so the whole 'snookums' was new.

"Loser!"

Before I could reply, a guy wearing a tux and black mask ran up. He had dark hair and looked to be around Bloom's age.

"There you are!" He said. Noticing me, he said, "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Nonsense. We have so much to talk about since she…" She said, trailing off. "She didn't do anything rash, did she?" she slurred.

 _Who are they talking about? What does Bloom mean by 'anything rash'?_

"Are you drunk?" He asked.

"Where is she?"

"I'm pretty sure she's here somewhere."

"Then, let's go find her."

"I'm going to go this way," I said. I needed to figure this out. What was Bloom hiding?

 **BLOOM'S POV:**

I walked around outside, calming myself down. Suddenly, I felt an arm around my waist, spinning me to face him.

"Hey. You look incredible." He said.

"Brandon? I- I'm not" I struggled to get out, still recovering from the initial shock of being spun around so fast.

"May I?" He asked, swaying a little.

"Woah, are you drunk Brandon?" He looked like he had downed one too many drinks.

He cupped my face, pulling me tighter.

I struggled against him, "Get off! I'm not Stella!" I shouted, thumping his chest, trying to get him off.

He wasn't listening, and in a moment of desperation, I hit him with a fireball, throwing him back a few feet. It wasn't enough to hurt him, only to get him away.

"What was that for, Stella?"

I shouted at the top of my lungs, "I. Am. Not. Stella. And if you don't back off, I will hit you with another one of these!" I got away from there, not wanting to stick around anymore.

"Stella, is that you?" I said to a girl.

"Bloom?" She said throwing her arms around me, "I've missed you so much!"

"Me too, girl. Your boyfriend is beyond drunk, by the way."

"Really?"

"He's over there. You should go check on him before he attacks another one that he thinks is you." I said.

"I better go check on him." She said, walking off, "This is not over! You better call me tonight." She said.

"Will do!" I said.

I got lost in my thoughts as I walked back inside the ballroom. The orchestra was now playing a slow dance. I wasn't too careful walking and I tripped. Before I could fall onto my face, I felt arms around my waist, steadying me.

"Glad to see you're so graceful, princess." He smirked, pulling me towards him. I could tell he had a few Sun Rays, but he was really good at handling his drinks. I had had only one and it was pretty obvious. "How much have you had to drink, darling?"

"You should be thankful I got the books before I started drinking," I blurted. He smirked.

"Dance with me, darling?" He said and I took his hand. He was surprisingly a good dancer. I didn't even know why I was surprised. He looked like the type to be good at ballroom dancing. He twirled me around the room effortlessly while I did my best to stay off his toes.

As the music became gentler, Valtor pulled me closer to his chest and I slid my arms around his neck as we swayed together. "Show off." I teased playfully.

"You know you love it." He said. I stuck my tongue out at him and he smirked at me.

 _Way to go Bloom! You have got to be the most mature one in this room!_

The smirk looked odd on his disguised face. Something was wrong. I couldn't see his real face anymore. A wave of dizziness hit me as I realized what was going on. I tensed.

 _Oh no._

"What's wrong?" His now green eyes showed concern as he asked me. I could not get my mouth to form words as another stronger wave of dizziness rolled through me. I felt chills run up my spine. I collapsed against his strong chest, trying hard to breathe. I felt him pick me up. I felt the cool air hit me, doing nothing to help. I felt Valtor set me down gently. At this point it became too hard to concentrate, so I didn't, letting the darkness swallow me.

 **VALTOR'S POV:**

"What's wrong?" Bloom suddenly paled. He lips looked blue and her skin felt cold. Then, she just collapsed against me. I was concerned, not that I like her. If something happened to her, who would help me get the power I deserve? I picked her up and carried her outside.

I cast a healing spell on her, and sighed in relief as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Valtor?" She whispered as I hugged her.

 **BLOOM'S POV:**

My eyes slowly blinked opened as I tried to remember what happened. The last thing I remembered was collapsing against Valtor. Valtor.

"Valtor?" I said, my voice only a hoarse whisper. Before I could get another word in, he gathered me into his arms for a hug.

 _Who is this and what has he done with Valtor?_

"I thought I lost you. Never do that again." He said into my ear. Getting over the oddity of it all, I hugged him back.

The moment ended as quickly as it started when Valtor abruptly pulled away and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Anyway, I have decided our next location to visit."

"Where?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." He smirked.

 _There's the regular Valtor._

"No fair!" I said.

"You'll live, princess."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"But first, you have to get more information on the place we are going. Get back to the hideout as soon as possible. We have a long day tomorrow." He said, "Go to the Magix Library. I think it's the only one still open. Get all of the information you can from shelves L and Z of the planets section."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I already know pretty much everything in there,"

"Then why don't you just tell me?"

"I have… other... things I have to do."

Growing up on Earth had taught me how to identify an excuse when I saw one.

 _I wonder what he's really up to._

"Fine."

"Good," He snapped his fingers and I was suddenly standing at the door of The Magix Library. With a sigh, I walked inside.

"Do you need help finding anything, dear?" A kind looking lady looked up at me through glasses that were perched low on the nose.

"Oh, no thank you, miss." I said as politely, giving her the best smile I could.

"Oh, that's alright. Just come up here if you need anything."

 _Alright, Valtor told me Planets Section. Ah, here it is. It's pretty small, though._

Section Z was very small. There was only one shelf of books, all on one topic: Zenith. Section L was the same. All the books were on Linphea.

 _So we're going to Tecna's and Flora's home planets tomorrow. I wonder what for._

Grabbing a few random ones from the shelf, I nestled into a very comfortable armchair. I had barely opened the first one when my phone rang. The few people in the library all turned to give me dirty looks. I scrambled to pick it up, my cheeks red from embarrassment. I headed out the back door of the library to take the call.

"What the hell do you want?!" I nearly shouted into the phone, not caring who was on the other end.

"Damn, Bloom. Who spit in your latte?" Andy said.

 **VALTOR'S POV:**

What had happened to Bloom earlier? I had sent Bloom to the Magix Library a while ago. That was when I found the Winx. At first, I didn't realize how clingy Bloom's entire club was as they bombarded me with question after question. Thank all forces in the universe that Bloom was not as bad as these girls were. They refused to stop talking and I finally managed to get away from them with Andy. No wonder the Trix referred to them as chattering pixies. Speaking of the Trix, I needed to talk with them tonight so we could finalize our plans for Andros and moving forward.

Honestly, Andy wasn't a bad guy, but there was something… off about him. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I would figure it out eventually.

My thoughts were interrupted by, "Damn, Bloom, who spit in your latte?"

 _He's talking to Bloom?_

"Where are you now? Are you still at the party because I found your boyfriend."

 _Boyfriend? Bloom has a boyfriend? Of course she does, how could she not? Wait, why do I care?_

There was something on the other end before Andy said, "I know, I know." And "No. I can't. No magic, remember?"

 _No magic? That's probably why he doesn't seem like everyone else._

Bloom said something else before he said, "You know the shuttle system here will take ages." And "Please? With a cherry on top?" and finally, "Which shuttle number is it?"

"Okay, bye." With that, he hung up.

"Who was that?" I asked, half expecting him to avoid it.

"Bloom." He said simply. At least he was honest.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"Nothing much. She said she has some work to get done." I didn't think that Bloom would tell him everything.

"Do you know where the shuttle station is?" He asked after a moment of silence. He was definitely about to go to Bloom. I couldn't risk all my plans being foiled because of this pesky boy.

'Icy, are you there?' I asked mentally.

'Yeah, where are you? You told us to meet in your office so we could talk about further steps.'

'Oh, about that. You witches have been under so much stress lately, that I think it is best that you get some rest. After all, if you are not focused, we will not get much accomplished.'

'Uh, okay. Thanks for thinking of us, Valtor.' She then cut off the telepathic connection.

 _I'm not thinking of you, Icy. I can't let this boy ruin my plans and take Bloom from me._

"The shuttle station is near the Gardens of Solaria. That's not too far."

"Okay, thanks bro."

I waited for him to walk off before I teleported to the Magix Library. Making sure my disguise was still active after the teleport, I walked into the library. There was an old lady sitting at the desk who greeted me. After brushing her off, I went to go see whether Bloom was still here. I quickly found the Planet Section and smirked when I saw Bloom. She was asleep, curled up in one of the chairs, an open book resting on her legs.

 **BLOOM'S POV:**

"Why did you call?" I asked him.

"Where are you now? Are you still at the party because I found your boyfriend."

"Andy! He's not my boyfriend, I've told you this. We are working together. Andy FYI I am at the Magix Library. You know the big one I told you about in the middle of Magix."

Andy said, "I know, I know. Okay."

"You should just teleport here." I told him.

"No. I can't. No magic, remember?"

"Oh, in that case, have fun with the shuttles." I told him, smirking even though he couldn't see it. Valtor was really rubbing off on me.

"You know the shuttle system here will take ages."

"What? You want me to teleport you?" I asked him.

"Please? With a cherry on top?" I could practically hear the puppy dog eyes.

It took all of my willpower, but I did it, "No, Andy. I will not teleport you."

He sighed, "Which shuttle number is it?"

"It's number 8X Magix. Get off on the second stop."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." With that, he hung up. I put my phone away and walked back into the library. It would take him about 20 minutes by shuttle from Solaria to Magix if there were no crowds.

Plopping down on the chair, I opened the first book and flipped through it. I already knew about Zenith's spell collections thanks to Tecna. I got bored of the books and just wandered around the huge library. Andy would get here in about 15 more minutes. Just then, I thought of what would occupy my time. After calling Valtor my boyfriend, he deserved a good pranking.

 _He used to do this to me all the time._

When I still lived on Earth, Andy and I would meet up very often and he picked up this bad habit of pulling pranks on me. The one that I was going to pull on him was what I dubbed 'The Sleeping Prank'. I would pretend to be asleep and when he came near me, I would jump and scare him. He did it to me often and I never stopped getting startled every time.

I nestled myself into the chair and put the open book on my lap. I closed my eyes and made my face emotionless (Something I'd learned to do to hide when I had been crying from the girls). I closed my eyes and leaned my head to the side. I heard the door open and footsteps come toward me. I was just about to jump at him before I sensed his power signature. I couldn't believe this: First Valtor ditches me, telling me he has to do something and here he is, spying on me! The nerve of him!

I wasn't going to let him ruin my prank, so I did nothing and I felt him walk away.

 **VALTOR'S POV:**

I heard the door open and I knew that her precious Andy must have walked in already. I couldn't let him see me, so I put an invisibility spell on myself, walking behind a bookshelf for good measure.

He came in and smiled mischievously at Bloom's sleeping form before walking towards the front desk. He came back with a black marker. What was he planning? He crept closer to Bloom, taking the cap of the marker off. Once he was about 4 feet away from Bloom, she suddenly leapt up and screamed, causing Andy to let out a high-pitched shriek and jump back. He ended up with a black line on the side of his face, scowling as Bloom doubled over laughing.

 _She was faking sleep the entire time._

"Chicken!" She said in between fits of laughter.

"You gave me a heart attack!" He said.

"Now you know how I feel!"

She moved over in her chair and he sat down next to her. He started talking to her, but I was too far away to listen. I put a spell on myself so that Bloom couldn't detect my magic and crept closer to the so I could hear what was going on.

 **BLOOM'S POV:  
**

I heard the door open, signaling Andy had arrived. He walked over to me before walking away. I couldn't sense Valtor's magic, so I figured he had left. Andy came back and slowly tiptoed over to me.

 _And in 3, 2, 1_

I jumped at him and screamed, laughing as he screamed like a girl and jumped back. I noticed the black line on his face.

"Chicken!" I managed between fits of laughter.

"You gave me a heart attack!" He said.

"Now you know how I feel!"

"Get up, you big baby," I said, scooting over so he could sit next to me on the chair. He plopped down next to me.

"Now, is there a particular reason you came here, or did you just come to annoy me?"

He cleared his throat before talking in a very regal voice, "I have voyaged to this pulchritudinous place of knowledge in order to photosynthesize and request your advice."

"I bet you don't even know what half those words mean." I said, "I'm pretty sure I passed bio in Gardenia and you do realize that photosynthesis is what plants use to make food from sunlight, right?"

"You got me," He said, "But seriously I came here because of both reasons,"

"You sure got the annoying part down,"

"No, listen. I need advice… girl advice, and you're my best friend, so I came to you," He said. We had dated back in Gardenia, but broke up soon after. Most exes were awkward with each other, but our parents were close, so we were forced to make up. Andy then became like a brother to me.

"These books are boring, so I guess I'll have to pay attention," I joked. He smiled before continuing.

"Okay, so I met this girl at the masquerade and guess what?"

"What?"

"She's from Gardenia, too. She had her mask on, but she seemed like a really nice girl. We traded phone numbers and I told her I would call her."

"Then call her, Einstein." I rolled my eyes at him.

"It's not that simple. Do you know who she is?"

"No, who?"

"Roxy from the Frutti Music Bar."

"You mean the Roxy that was in your band? She has magic?"

He slowly nodded.

"Well, that really complicates things."

"What should I do?"

"Did you tell her who you were?"

"No. She doesn't even know I know. I figured it out from the way she talked and her hair."

"Okay, so you need to figure out your feelings because this could end in disaster."

"Okay."

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath." I pulled out my phone and pressed record. I knew that if he went to pursue her, he would panic and ruin his chances with his dream girl. Luckily for him, I had his dream girl's number.

"Do you like Roxy? Like really like her?"

"I do"

"What are you willing to do for her?"

"Whatever she needs me to."

"Are you going to hurt her in any way?"

"No."

I pressed the button to stop recording and sent it to Roxy. "There, now she can see how true you actually are."

"Bloom! You recorded that?!"

I smirked, "And sent it to Roxy."

"I don't whether I should kill you or hug you." He said.

"Loser." I said.

"Okay, moving forward, tell me what's new about you," He said.

"Maybe I like someone."

"Yes! I knew it! Is it him?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I have no idea." I said quietly.

"Wait what?!" he said, "You totally like him, you dork!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. I told you that he is only a coworker. I have no feelings for him."

"Still!'

"Andy!"

"Okay what else is new?"

"What else is new, other than the fact that I-" I trailed off.

"What's wrong?" His face showed concern. "Bloom!"

My heart was racing and I felt chills go up my spine. The half-broken tracker sent shocks up my leg. I forced myself to take deep breaths as the room began to spin.

"Here, I got you some water," He said. I took tiny sips of it, controlling my breathing.

"I think Faragonda was right, pulling you out of the fight with the Trix and Valtor. You really are weak." He said. Feeling much better, I turned to glare at him.

He whispered in my ear, "When I was getting you water, I found out that he's here watching us. Let's really put on a show for him."

"What do you mean?" I said.

"The best way to get to a guy is through jealousy. Only me and you know that we don't actually like each other, right little sister?"

I smirked.

"Stop doing that, it looks weird on you!"

"Let's get this over with, you bozo. Just pretend I am Roxy."

"Just pretend that I am Valtor," he whispered. I gave him a death glare. Valtor and I were partners, nothing more. "Fine, fine, whatever. I still ship you two."

"Andy!"

"What?" He said, faking innocence.

I sighed, "Let's just this over with."

He gently cupped my face in his hands, "You're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen," I used a spell to make it look like I was blushing.

"Shut up," I said.

"I wish I could have said it sooner. I can't live without you and I only realized it when I almost lost you. Shadow Haunt was the worst time for me, I didn't know if you were going to make it and I just couldn't stand the thought of being without you." He said.

To someone who just met him, Andy looked like he was dead serious about what he was saying, but I had known him since forever, and I could tell that he was trying so hard not to burst out laughing, just like me. I knew he wouldn't spill too much; I trusted Andy with my secrets.

I thought of a romantic reply, "You won't ever lose me because I'm right here."

He pulled me into his lap and put my head on his chest. I smirked to myself. I could sense the anger radiating off of Valtor's previously undetectable aura.

"Don't ever do something like that again," He whispered as he put his arms around me, pulling me tighter.

"I won't,"

"You wanna get out of here?"

"Let's go," He said, getting up and offering me his hand. I took it and got up. Andy put his arm around me and we walked out of the library.

 **VALTOR'S POV:**

What was she doing with that idiot boy? She should be gathering information for our next heists, not sucking face with a magicless teenager. My hands curled into fists, with my nails digging into my palm as I watched them basically plaster themselves onto each other with disbelief. She was not the girl I met in the cavern. As they exited the library, I followed them. He had his arm around her and they were headed somewhere to do who-knows-what together. After they turned around the block, I waited at the corner, watching them as they stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

As I turned to leave, the boy burst into laughter with Bloom alongside him.

"Can you believe it?! He totally fell for it!" Andy said, giving Bloom a high five. I turned on my heel with a shocked expression.

"Hook, line, and sinker!" She exclaimed.

"I could feel the jealousy rolling off of him, even though I don't have magic! That'll teach him to spy!"

 _This was a trick?! I'm going to have to have a word with Bloom._

"You're an evil genius, Andy."

"A genius nonetheless," he said with a stupid looking grin on his face. "I can see the headlines already: Local Gardenia Boy Andy Proves to be Genius!"

Bloom snorted, "Yeah right! I bet you don't even know the difference between string beans and Sting Theory."

"Between string beans and who?"

"Point proven," she said. "Dork," she said, rolling her eyes, but a grin matching his was on her face.

"Okay fine, maybe I'm not that big a genius, but it's good to see you're feeling better. Earlier, you were all like 'screw life'" He said in a high-pitched voice.

"I do not sound like that!" she exclaimed.

"Yes you do! Tell me what's it like to have a double life!"

"Andy, you sound like a 10-year-old high on sugar!"

"Who cares? Tell me!"

 _She wasn't really going to tell him, right?_

"We need to get you home. Your parents will worry." She said.

 _That's my girl._

"Why? It's 11 PM, which means it's only around 11 AM in Gardenia!" he protested.

"And what day is it there?" she said.

"Monday. Come on, Bloom, you know this." He said.

"It's Monday, which means?" She asked.

"Oh shoot! I have school!"

"We have a new Sherlock here, everybody!" she said sarcastically.

"But it's not fair! You dropped out of Alfea!" He whined.

 _She WHAT?!_

"That's different! I'm taking a mental health vacation."

"Heaven knows a crazy like you needs it." He mumbled.

"Excuse me?!" she exclaimed before walking away.

"Bloom! Come back! I'm sorry!"

"Apology accepted. Now let's go. Earth awaits."

"Fine, but you have to bring me here more often." He said.

"Bringing you here once was a big enough mistake." She said.

"You don't mean that. Besides, I know what I want for my birthday now."

"Let's go, or I'll leave you stranded in Magix in the middle of the night." Bloom said.

Andy walked closer to her before they both teleported in a flash of light.

I traced her magic to a place called Gardenia. The sudden bright sky did not faze me as I watched the figures of Bloom and Andy walk into a house. My heart sank and I could not figure out why.

I walked down the sidewalk, figuring I would look around a bit. I reached a small park and decided to walk around. As I sat there flipping through a spell book I teleported from my hideout, a girl walked up to me. She was tall with long black hair. Even though I couldn't detect any magic from her, she had a witchy aura to her.

"Hey handsome," she sounded as witchy as she looked. I pretended not to hear her, thinking she would go away if I ignored her. Boy, was I wrong. She proved to be worse than Icy. She sat down next to me and pressed herself onto me. When I tried to move away, she hooked her arms around my neck and pulled us closer together.

I groaned, "Who are you and what do you want?"

She batted her eyelashes and twirled her hair around her finger, "I'm Mitzi. What about you, hot stuff?"

I tried to think of an Earth name. "I'm Val-entine."

"That's hot. You wanna go to that concert at the Frutti Music Bar tonight?" She was intolerable, but I needed a drink right now and a bar was the place to go. Besides, it wouldn't be hard to lose her in the crowd; she looked like she jumped form guy to guy as soon as a more attractive one came along.

"Fine."

"It doesn't start until 7. It's only 5 right now. How about we get to know each other until then?"

"Go ahead. You first." I said. If she was anything like I thought she was, she would not stop talking about herself, and a simple spell would make it look like I was paying attention. Every few minutes, she would touch me in some way.

After what seemed like an hour of her chatter (which it probably was), I heard someone playing the guitar.

"Do you hear that?" I asked, happy to interrupt her.

"Let's go find out where it's coming from." She said, getting up and grabbing my hand. It was Bloom and the guy she was with earlier.

A disgusted look crossed her face, "It's just Andy and his bitch girlfriend."

"Those two are dating?" I asked.

"Yeah. She hasn't been here for a while. Last time I checked, they were together. I figured it was only a matter of time."

"Oh. What do you mean?" I asked.

"They've been best friends since we were kids." There was something underneath all of the hatred and I was determined to find it.

"It seems like you don't like that idea."

"Of course I don't!" She shouted, "Bloom was my best friend first! Then he swooped in! It's not fair!" She whined.

"You can't just find another friend? I'm sure you're popular." She smiled at me and pushed herself on me, grabbing my arm.

"No! Don't you know me? Everyone hates me! Bloom was pretty much the only one who thought I was worth being friends with." I could see the tears pooling in her eyes and I almost felt bad for her. Almost.

"Then what happened?" I asked carefully. I had been taught well by the Ancestral witches to get information out of people. Step 1: Make them feel safe. Step 2: Find out what you need. Step 3: Leave.

"Now that I look back: I guess I took her for granted." I saw her look back at the laughing Bloom. "I started ignoring her, bullying her. Wait... everyone will be at that concert. I have an idea." She said before running off.

 _FINALLY! She left._

Now that she was gone, my attention went to the still blonde Bloom and Andy. Were they really dating?

"You should sing with me tonight."

"No way!"

"Are you sure? Just listen to the song!"

"I'll listen, but I'm not singing." She said.

"Fine. Have it your way." He said before starting to play his guitar again. There I stood. In the bushes spying on my partner in crime and her supposed boyfriend.

I'm not bullet proof when it comes to you  
Don't know what to say when you made me the enemy  
After the war is won  
There's always the next one  
I'm not bullet proof when it comes to you

Maybe I'll crash into you  
Maybe we would open up these wounds  
We're only alive if we bruise  
So I lay down this armor  
I will surrender tonight  
Before we both lose this fight  
Take my defenses  
All my defenses  
I lay down this armor  
I lay down this armor  
I lay down this armor  
I do what it takes to make this right  
But we got to stop before the regret  
After the war is won  
There's always the next one  
I'll do what it takes to make this right

Maybe I'll crash into you  
Maybe we would open up these wounds  
We're only alive if we bruise  
So I lay down this armor  
I will surrender tonight  
Before we both lose this fight  
Take my defenses  
All my defenses  
I lay down this armor  
I lay down this armor  
I lay down this armor for you

I'll be you escape  
I'll be your safe place  
I'll be your shelter  
Your shelter yeah  
I'll be you escape  
I'll be your safe place  
I'll be your shelter  
Your shelter yeah

Maybe I'll crash into you  
Maybe we would open up these wounds  
We're only alive if we bruise  
So I lay down this armor  
I will surrender tonight  
Before we both lose this fight  
Take my defenses  
All my defenses  
I lay down this armor  
I lay down this armor  
I lay down this armor for you  
I lay down this armor for you

It almost sounded like a… love song. He finished his song as Bloom clapped for him. "That was great, Andy!"

"But it's not right. I can't get it right."

She sighed, "You always do this. You freeze up before a big performance. Come on."

Bloom got up and ran a circle around him. "Catch me if you can." She said with a smile on her face.

"I don't have time for this." He said.

"Oh, is that so?" she said with her eyebrow raised, "I'm sure Mark, Ryo and Roxy would love to know that you couldn't beat a girl and you sprained your wrist when you fell off the-"

"Oh, you're on," he said, leaping up.

I found it amusing as Andy tried to catch Bloom. She climbed up a tree with Andy following behind her. When he finally got up there, they were both out of breath and laughing like maniacs.

"See? Now how do you feel?"

He mumbled something and Bloom elbowed him playfully in the side, "What was that?"

"You were right." He said.

"Hmm? I couldn't catch that." Now she was just plain messing with him.

"You were right!" he exclaimed.

"Told you so!" she said.

"You just had to say it didn't you?"

"Yep. Now, let's go or else you'll miss it."

"Okay, let's go."

They walked towards the sidewalk and I trailed them. I planned to break them up. Why? Those two being together might affect her ability to help me eventually take over the dimension.

Turns out, the Frutti Music Bar was not what I made it out to be. The place looked like it was built for pixies. At least they had decently potent alcohol.

Andy was the first to perform with his band. I had to admit, he had a good voice. At the end of his performance, the cheers were so loud, the ending of his song was drowned out by the crowd. Next was the girl I talked to at the park (Mitchie I think). She didn't sing.

"Hey everybody. I know you hate me, but I have something to say. I'm sorry, truly sorry, for everything that I have said or done that has hurt any of you. I realized that what I have done is wrong and I wanted to let you all know, even if you still hate me." She didn't get to finish before Bloom went on stage and hugged her, followed by the majority of the people in the crowd. If only the Magic Council was like this.

I watched as the pair sat down at a booth in the corner after his performance. Andy got up to use the restroom and I found my opportunity. Pulling a piece of paper and a pen out of the air, I wrote:

 _Dear Bloom,_

 _I do not have the guts to say this out loud, but I want you to know that I absolutely detest you. You always have so much drama that you keep dragging me in to, and frankly, I'm sick and tired of it. You are a freak of nature with your so called magic powers and I think you deserve all of the hits you take. You have such a witchy aura about you that makes you unpleasant to be around. I never want to see you again._

I disguised myself as a waiter and walked up to Bloom.

"Excuse me, miss. Are you Bloom?"

"Yes, why?" she asked.

"A young man named Andy wanted me to give you this letter. He mentioned saying something he was too afraid to say out loud." I said, handing her the letter. It was strange seeing her as a blonde, but she did not look too bad. She took it and started to open it. I walked away before going into the next booth.

 _Time to see whether this worked._

I watched as Bloom's face slowly sank and tears pooled into her eyes. She looked like someone had ripped something she cared about from her. As Andy came out of the bathroom and started walking towards her, she looked furious. I could see the corner of the paper she was holding start to burn. Instead of ambushing him like I thought she would, she just turned and ran out.

When the boy saw her run, he ran to the booth.

"Oh shoot!" He exclaimed as he put the fire out. After he read the letter, a look of shock crossed his face and he flung the paper to the ground before racing after Bloom.

I followed him outside. "Bloom, wait!" he shouted.

She had tears in her eyes, "I have nothing to say to you. I can't believe how stupid I am! I thought you actually cared!" She yelled back before creating a portal around herself. The circle was about halfway around Bloom when he tackled her away from the portal, which immediately faded when she left it.

She kicked at him, struggling to get him off. "Let go! I want nothing to do with you! Bastard!"

"Bloom, just please listen."

"I'm sick and tired of listening and I'm sure you're sick and tired of me."

"Bloom!" He shook her. She stood still, emotions swirling in her eyes like tornadoes.

"Andy." Her voice was hoarse. He looked at her eagerly, still holding on to her. "Fire wall." She said calmly as a wall of fire broke them apart.

He grabbed her again and held her to his chest, stroking her hair gently with one hand while the other gripped her back. She collapsed into sobs as he whispered to her. He must have been in so much pain, but he held on to Bloom like he hadn't just been burned.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm here, I've got you. I promise you Bloom, I didn't write that letter."

Finally, she looked at him. Her voice was hostile with heartbreak laced throughout her tone, "I can't believe you. I always thought you were there for me, but now I know how you really felt. You were right, you know. You really can't trust even the people you thought cared about you. Don't ever talk to me again. I'm sure you'll be happier without me weighing you down." Tears pooled in her eyes and she turned to leave. As she walked away, she didn't even look back and I wondered if I had made the right choice. Who cares? Once she gets over him, all her attention will be on what we are trying to accomplish.

 _Now for phase two of my plan._

"Hey bro! You look worried." I said, putting on an illusion and running up to him.

"I just lost one of the most important people in my life!" he exclaimed.

"Want me to help you find her?"

"Wait, I never mentioned the person being a her." He said.

"I... kind of watched the entire thing go down."

"Oh."

"I think we should trace her footsteps before she gets too far away."

"Let's go." We walked quickly in silence in the darkening sky. Soon, we saw a single figure walking slowly a little bit in front of us. I had the strangest feeling like we were being watched.

"That's her! That's Bloom." He said.

"Hey blondie! Want a drink?" someone shouted at Bloom. Andy's eyes widened as he saw who was offering her the drink. We edged closer, so that we could hear everything.

"Actually, a drink is exactly what I need right now. Thanks." She said, taking the cup from him.

"Who's that with her?" I asked.

"That's Darko. He and his gang usually hang out here, causing trouble. He is nothing but trouble and the last thing Bloom should be doing is getting a drink from him. Who knows what he could have put in there! Oh my God! I won't stand a chance against all of them! What am I going to do?" I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down and we continued to listen.

"Bloom. What's wrong? You never drink this much."

"Absolutely nothing." Her tone was hard. He pulled her towards him, tilting her chin up with his fingers. Then, he did the unthinkable: he kissed on each cheek, similar to the way close friends greet each other.

"You know I won't stop until you tell me." He said with a small smile. She looked ready to burst into tears.

"Come on, I'm here for you. We'll get through this together." He sat down and pulled her into his lap, pulling her head to his chest.

She took a few breaths as he rubbed circles on her back. "Sky-" she sobbed.

"Sky?" he asked.

 _The Eraklyon prince?_

"Sky- sky fall." She cried. He just held her, a sudden anger flashing across his face.

 _Skyfall? What did that mean?_

"Wait till I get my hands on him! That bastard will regret the day he was born!" he growled.

"No. Don't do anything to him." She said snuggling into him as he ran his fingers through her blonde hair.

Before he could say anything, a girl walked towards them. "Hey Darko, you ready to go? Oh sorry, I didn't realize you were with another girl." she said.

"No Sel, it's okay. Come here." He waved her over. As she walked past, I sensed dark magic coming from her.

"Selina?" Andy asked confused.

"Why do you look surprised to see her? Is she your girlfriend?"

"No. She's not. I barely even know her. She was a part of Darko's gang, but she left without a trace."

"Bloom!" she said.

The joyful expression on her face disappeared as soon as she saw Bloom crying and Darko holding her. Wordlessly, she sat down next to them and wrapped her arms around both of them.

"What's wrong?"

"I just lost my best friend." She whimpered

"You mean Andy? I never thought he was that big a jerk!"

"That's why I picked on him." The guy holding my partner in crime said.

 **hehe**

Please **leave a review telling me what you thought** and if you **want to make a request.** Who knows, I might just take it. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**VALTOR'S POV**

"That's why I picked on him." The guy holding Bloom said. "I was testing him to see if he would get scared and run off."

"How did they meet?" Andy whispered to me.

"Let's see." I said, using my magic to conjure a viewing window. "They met 3 years ago."

 _ **Begin Viewing Window Scene**_

" _Bye Andy!" Bloom waved as a slightly younger looking Andy boarded a plane, "Have fun in Italy!" As soon as he disappeared, the large grin on her face vanished._

 _Bloom started to walk back home. Halfway home, the black-haired girl pulled up in a scooter next to her and said, "Now that your precious boy-toy is gone, you have nothing else to live for. You should do us all a favor and kill yourself." Then she sped off, purposefully driving into the puddle so Bloom would be splashed by the dirty street water._

" _Ugh!" she said._

 _Bloom walked over to the park and climbed up onto the ledge with the slide with tears pooling in her eyes._

" _Upset, are we?" a voice asked out of nowhere. There stood a boy about Bloom's age. He had black hair and blue eyes. He wore street type clothes. Bloom pinched herself to force the tears to stop._

" _I'm fine. It's not like you care. Just do what you always do and steal my starbursts and feed them to your dumb dog." She said, turning away from him._

" _Haha. Nice try, Bloom. I have something I want to talk to you about. You won't be disappointed."_

" _What are you talking about?" she asked. "And since when do you look out for anyone outside of your group of gangsters? I see you every day with Mitzi, talking about me and acting like I don't exist!"_

" _Listen" he said, reaching out to touch her arm._

" _Don't touch me!" she said, slapping his arm away._

" _Bloom, just listen. You're going to want to see this."_

" _How do I know that I won't be found dead in some alleyway tomorrow?" She said._

" _I give you my word that nothing will happen to you while you are with me," He said, raising his right hand, "Now come on." Reluctantly, she got up._

 _Bloom said, "Where are you going? The sidewalk is this way. I mean you would probably know that if you came to class more than 2 days a week."_

" _Pfft! Sidewalk?!" he laughed. "Sidewalks are for losers!" He took her hand despite her protests and started leading her towards the alley. They climbed a ladder and they were on the roof of a small two-story building. He went to the edge, which overlooked a shorter building._

" _Now jump!" he said._

" _If you want me to kill myself, there are more subtle ways of letting me know." She said, trying to leave._

" _Just do it before I push you off. You won't die. I can almost guarantee it." He said, grabbing her wrist._

" _Fine," she sighed before edging to the edge of the building. Looking down at the one-story drop, she gulped. Taking a deep breath, she dropped with a scream. "Oww! I scraped my elbow! This is your fault!"_

" _Blaming others for your own problems is not a good habit." The dark-haired boy looked down at her. "And that was a perfect way to demonstrate how to get hurt doing this. Form was terrible, no grace, and horrible landing. I give you a 1 out of 10."_

" _Ha! I'd like to see your reaction to jumping off a building!" she shouted from the other rooftop._

" _I suggest you back up." He smirked. He took a few steps back before confidently running to the edge, leaping off, and pulling off a flip before landing gracefully next to Bloom._

" _Show off," she grumbled._

" _I can't help it if I'm absolutely stunning, now can I."_

" _Try to help it." She said._

" _Jealous, are we?" he said with a smug grin on his face._

" _Jealous? Why would I be jealous of a street monkey?"_

" _Ouch." He chuckled. "Since I know how much you love that rabbit of yours, I took the liberty of taking that thing from your room."_

" _You what?! I will punch you! Come here you fiend!"_

" _Just try and catch me. Oh and you can find him, stuffed, in my room. He's hanging off the wall now." He smirked. "See?" he said, showing her a picture of a stuffed rabbit that looked exactly like Kiko. With that he jumped onto the alley one story down._

" _I hate you so much!" she shouted. She was losing control of her emotions. "How could you? You've always picked on me. You made my life living hell all throughout school, now this?" Tears pricked the corners of her eyes._

 _The tears streamed freely down her face and she sank to the ground, burying her face in her knees. It didn't take long for Darko to get back where she was and put his arms around her. She tried to shrug his arms off, but he held her tight, pulling her to his chest._

" _Shh. It's okay, I was just joking, trying to get you to jump." He whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry."_

" _No. You're not. You never have been. You never will be." She said, pulling away from him with a sniffle. Her blue eyes shone with sadness._

" _Harsh, sweetheart. What did I do to deserve this horror?" he said, keeping his distance._

" _Let's see. You or Mitzi hit or trip me at least once a day, you steal my starbursts to feed your dog, and you have played pretty much any girl that looked at you twice... Oh God, am I one of those girls now, too?" she said, moving further away from him._

" _Okay fine," he said, running a hand through his hair, "Truce?" He held his hand out to her._

" _Why are you being so nice to me?" she said, but still took his hand._

 _One month had passed and Bloom had started becoming closer with Darko and even talked to him at school. He really wasn't that bad, but Bloom was still a bit wary of him. She still called Andy, who was in Italy, almost every day. Andy said that he didn't trust him._

 _One day, he said, "Bloom. You know how I wanted you to meet a few people? Well, here they are. This is Marc and this is-"_

 _She cut him off by saying, "Selina!" Bloom hugged the girl with dirty blonde hair and black outfit, "I missed you so much! Where were you?"_

" _Bloom! You don't know how much of a relief it is to see a friendly face." She said. "I can't tell you what I've been through but I can say that it is so much better back home."_

 _Four months later she noticed something strange about Darko._

" _You're slowing down. Don't tell me you've become an old man overnight," Bloom joked as they ran their usual lap above the lower buildings near the south side of Gardenia. The sun was beginning to set and the air was beginning to cool._

" _Uh yeah," he said after a minute, tugging the sleeves of his black hoodie until they covered his hands. Bloom looked at him suspiciously before walking toward him and grabbing his arm while he tried his best not to flinch._

" _What has gotten into you? You must be getting hot with your sleeves all the way down. Normally, you roll them up." She said as she pulled the sleeve of his hoodie back. Her eyes widened and she gasped while he yanked his arm back._

" _It's nothing." He said._

" _It's not nothing!" She said. "I know you know I care about you. I'm here for you even if you don't want to talk about it."_

" _I know, I have to go," he said before walking off._

" _No, wait!" she shouted, but to no avail._

 _She ran after him but he was a lot faster than her. Plus, she was still scared of jumping off the buildings. She tried to catch up, but she lost him quickly._

" _Just leave it. He went home and he never lets people come over." Marc said as he landed next to her._

" _Where does he live?"_

" _Uhh… I'm afraid I can't tell you that-" Marc started before being cut off by the redhead._

" _Tell me, or else…" She said._

" _You don't scare me, ginger. We both know you won't do whatever empty threat you were about to make." He smirked before ruffling her hair, which earned him a scowl from her._

" _Fine, if you won't tell me, I'll find out another way." She said before flipping her hair and walking off._

 _Two days later, she snuck into the school office._

 _Darko had skipped school that day. As soon as the bell chimed three and the students began to go home, Bloom went for the room where all the student files were kept. She leaned on the wall near the door and waited until the teacher on duty left. She caught the door right before it locked shut and went inside. She immediately opened the file cabinet that was labelled 'student files'._

" _Alright, I'm looking for… ah, there he is." She whispered as she went through the various folders. "I can't believe I'm doing this."_

 _The girl heard the sound of keys being twisted in the lock and she quickly closed the cabinet door and ducked under the desk._

" _Oh Sam, your sexy Beatrice has arrived…" Bloom looked up only to see the middle-aged secretary at the door wearing only her undergarments, that showed off most of her wrinkly body. Bloom involuntarily shuddered, squeezing her eyes shut, trying desperately to erase what she had just seen from her mind._

" _Oh, I guess he left." She said before leaving._

 _The redhead let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and opened the folder, looking at the address before placing the folder back where she found it and making her exit._

" _I am going to bleach my eyeballs when I get home," she muttered before leaving._

 _Near sunset, she walked to the address, which was in the not so safe part of town. She treaded carefully, alert for any attackers. There were no lights on and she was about to leave before she saw movement from the car parked a little bit from the house. She looked inside and gasped when she saw Darko making out with another guy._

 _The next day, Darko came to school, acting as if everything was normal. He flirted with every girl that walked past him. He even tried it on Bloom._

" _Darko. Stop. I know you aren't interested in girls."_

 _He opened and closed his mouth a couple times before finally saying, "How did you know?"_

" _Lucky guess, plus I saw you with your boyfriend." He said nothing but ran his fingers through his hair, looking away from the redhead. "What's really funny is that Mitzi is convinced that you are head over heels for her."_

 _That earned a small smile from the dark-haired boy._

" _I've gotta go. See ya?"_

" _See ya." He said._

 _She went back home. Walking into her room, she picked up her phone. All sorts of art lined her walls and her desk was organized chaos._

 _Today was the day her parents were going on a trip. Bloom walked them to the cab._

" _Remember, Ms. Abernathy is coming over to get those documents. When she comes, go into my study. The file you are looking for has a black cover and is in the top left drawer of my desk."_

" _Got it, dad." She said as they left._

 _Bloom spent an hour drawing before the doorbell rang. Mrs. Abernathy was not a patient woman and Bloom scrambled to get the documents. On her way towards the desk, Bloom tripped and knocked everything off of it._

" _I'll clean that up later," she said to herself as she grabbed the correct document and raced to the door. She greeted the woman and asked her if she wanted to come inside. Mrs. Abernathy left after getting the folder from her._

 _She went back into her father's office to clean up the mess she had made. As she stacked the papers, one particular one caught her eye. Her eyes widened as she read 'Adoption Papers'. She placed everything onto the desk and left the study quickly._

" _Hello fabulous." Darko said as he climbed in through Bloom's window. She turned away from him. "Come on now, don't be sad. All we need is a little bit of glitter to turn that frown upside down" he stated as he titled Bloom's chin, turning her face from side to side._

" _Leave me alone." She said, turning away from him again._

" _Fine, fine. Do you want to talk about it?" he asked._

" _No! Get out!" she shouted._

" _Okay, okay. I'll leave if it really makes you feel better." He said._

 _The day after Bloom's parents came back, Andy came back to Gardenia from Italy for vacation. He showed up at their door around 7._

" _Hello Vanessa and Mike. I wanted to know if Bloom was home."_

" _Yes. She went to go sleep."_

" _Can I see her? I brought gifts." He said, holding up a bag. The couple trusted Andy as he had been with Bloom since elementary, so they let him go up to her room, knowing that he would behave himself._

" _Go ahead. We are off to sleep. Holler if you need anything and once you're done, you can let yourself out." Mike told him. Andy headed towards Bloom's room._

 _Bloom's lights were off and some of her red hair hung off the side of her loft bed. Since she was higher up, he couldn't see her face, but he knew she was there. He sat down, suddenly feeling the jet lag. About ten minutes later, the window to Bloom's room opened and Andy was startled. He moved further into the shadows, ready to attack if necessary. Instead, he saw Bloom climb in along with a guy that was nothing but trouble- Darko. He was known for playing girls and feared that Bloom was his next target. He left after blowing Bloom a kiss._

" _Bloom." He spoke in a low voice, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him, "I just want to thank you for everything. You are the most incredible and understanding person I have ever met. You were the first to show compassion to me when you found out, hell, you were the first to find out. I could not ask for a better partner in crime." Bloom didn't say anything, she just hugged him._

" _Bye babe." Andy didn't know it, but Darko had developed a bad habit of calling everyone 'babe' which confused many people. To humor him, she would occasionally call him babe as well, but they both knew it didn't mean anything but friendship since there was no attraction between them._

 _Once he left, Bloom laid down on the sofa under her bed. Andy found himself drifting off to sleep. He was brought back into reality by the sound of a phone being dialed. Bloom didn't look too well as she called someone. Andy listened intently and grit his teeth when he heard the voice on the other end._

' _What's up?' he said._

" _Babe, how far are you? I changed my mind, can you pick me up?" she said._

' _Yeah, I'll be there in 5 minutes. We are going to have so much fun, I even booked us a place for the night. With me, you can forget about anything else.'_

" _I'm still unsure about this. I don't know if it is right that I sneak out behind my parents' backs and spend the night with you in a hotel." She said._

" _What the hell is he trying to pull?" Andy thought angrily._

' _Relax darling. It won't hurt. I'll make sure of it.' He said. After a moment, 'I'm here. The bike is out front.'_

" _Okay, I'm coming down." Bloom said as she hung up._

" _Who is she and what has she done to Bloom?" Andy thought. "I am going to punch this bastard for taking advantage of Bloom."_

 _He watched with a disgusted look on his face as Bloom put on a helmet and got on to his bike, clinging to him from behind. "Who knows how many other girls he has taken out on that bike" he thought. "Where was she going at this time?"_

 _He couldn't keep his eyes open for any more time, so he fell asleep. He woke up near sunrise and started pacing around Bloom's room. He was worried sick about his best friend and what Darko could be doing to her._

 _Meanwhile, Bloom and Darko sat at the edge of the serene lake._

" _Sometimes I feel like I need to punch the shit out of something." Bloom said._

" _Try me." Darko replied, holding his palm out to her. She punched him as hard as she could, but didn't manage to do any damage._

" _No. Not like that. Don't put your thumb there and punch with this part of your hand." He said, using his hands to fix Bloom's punching posture. Once she was done, she just broke down. He hugged her, trying to comfort her._

 _About an hour later, the window opened again. This time, only Bloom came through the window. He was itching to talk to her, but he decided not to and hid inside her closet, leaving the door open just a crack to see what was going on. There was something… off about Bloom. She didn't seem responsive. She just stood there, looking deep in thought. Seemingly out of nowhere, though, she burst out crying. Bloom slowly crumpled to the ground in tears. "I am going to kill him!" Andy thought._

 _The next day at school, Bloom walked in, looking like she had been crying. Mitzi teased her like usual, but today her insults stung more. She walked right past Andy as he waved hello. She didn't even talk to Darko. She didn't eat lunch and started cutting to give herself the pain she deserved._

 _A couple of days later, she was walking home when her frenzied rabbit Kiko pulled at the hem of her jeans._

" _Not now, Kiko. I'm not in the mood." When the rabbit did not stop, the redhead relented and got up. What she saw stole her breath away. There was an ogre fighting a blonde girl in orange with wings. They threw orbs of light at each other. At first the teenager thought it was all part of a movie, but realized that it was too real and that there were no wires even though the girl was clearly flying. What was more, was that she was losing. Seeing it, something inside of Bloom snapped, and with newfound bravery, she leaped in between the two._

" _Leave her alone!" she shouted angrily. To her absolute shock, a red shield formed around her and destroyed one of the monsters. She stared at her open palms in awe._

" _You've got some major winx, girl!" the blonde girl said from behind her. "Now, let's kick this ogre's butt!"_

 _ **End Viewing Window Scene**_

"It's okay. Think about this, I knew Andy before I left and he hardly seems like the guy to write something like that. Your memories show you being perfectly fine before you came to that restaurant. I think that the chef is behind this all, but why would he have motive is the real question." Selina, the ever intelligent one, said. It had taken her 10 minutes to put the whole thing together. I needed to get to the restaurant to clean up my tracks.

 _ **BLOOM'S POV**_

Selina was right. What motive did Andy have to something so cruel? I felt Darko's hold on me tighten. Everyone needed a gay friend like Darko who could hold you like this and not make it awkward. Once you got through his seemingly tough exterior, he was the world's biggest softie. It was a shame that he didn't open up to anyone else except us.

"Legendarium! The Legendarium can show us what really happened!" she said and conjured the book.

"That waiter!" Darko growled. "Let me go beat the crap out of him!"

"No. Darko. It's okay, I don't want revenge, I am just so happy to know that my best friend would not do that to me." I said.

"Do you guys see that?" Selina asked.

"Yeah, is that…" I said, slowly walking toward the figure.

 **VALTOR'S POV**

"Oh no, she is coming this way. If I get caught here, she won't help me anymore." I thought. She was too close now, and if we ran, we would surely be caught. I quickly whispered an invisibility spell and cast it on both me and that boy.

"Mark!" she squealed, running towards a figure a little way off.

"Baby!" Darko said, chasing after her, enveloping both of them in a hug.

I suddenly felt arms go around me and almost punched the unfortunate soul.

"For what it's worth, thank you, Valtor." Andy whispered before backing away. I froze.

 _ **How did he know my name? This has Bloom written all over it.**_

I decided to go back to the caverns to try to get some rest, which was a good thing since she came in a few minutes after me.

"She finally rolls in," I said sarcastically.

 **BLOOM'S POV**

"She finally rolls in," Valtor's voice breaks me out of my thoughts.

"Shut up," I retort, earning myself a smirk. He's as Valtor as ever, with his nose buried in a spell book. His long hair is in a low ponytail, which accentuates his sharp features.

"Where are we going first? Zenith or Linphea?" I asked.

"Linphea." He replied.

"Cool. Goodnight." I said, walking towards my bed, whispering the usual silencing spell on myself.

"Goodnight princess." He said, looking back at his book.

A couple hours later, I woke up again, screaming silently. This time, the laughing face of Darkar standing over me haunted my mind, leaving me shaking underneath the covers. Taking deep breaths, I tried to get to sleep.

…

I woke up in the morning, thankfully without any more nightmares. Valtor was already gone off to who-knows-where. He had laid out the clothes I was supposed to wear for this heist.

It was a green miniskirt and a floral shirt with a denim jacket, perfectly blending in with the Linphean people. About an hour later, he came back, wearing his usual clothes, but of course, I knew that it was an illusion.

"Ready? He asked?" I nodded as he teleported us. My stomach lurched while he seemed unfazed by the instant teleportation.

Turns out that we were going to a museum that housed the Winds of Truth, which was the power source for the majority of Linpheans. It was hot during this time of year so I rolled up the sleeves of the jacket, unwilling to take it off and carry it.

"That's actually clever to hide such a powerful spell on the realm of mostly pacifists." He said. "Once we take it, many Linpheans and the planets that they support will be weakened."

"I guess that's good for us, at least," I said, looking at the beautiful scenery that surrounded us.

"All you have to do is keep an eye on the guard as I go in." He said.

"Why can't I go in?" I asked, wanting to make sure he only took the one thing we were after, not draining the entire planet.

"You? Steal something? Very funny, princess, now stay here." He said with a smirk.

"Fine, whatever."

 _ **What was I, his puppy?**_

I decided to look around. One artifact especially caught my eye.

 _The Ancestral Eye:_

 _Housed in the Agador Box_

 _Known for its large amounts of power. Is linked to the Ancestral witches themselves._

 _ **Wait, wasn't this in Magix? I remember seeing it at the Magix museum when I went with the girls.**_

As soon as Valtor stepped into the holding place of the power source, loud alarms stated to blare as all the guards rushed to one place.

 _ **That's funny, how do they all know where to go right off the bat? I hope Valtor is okay.**_

"Bring it down!" Someone yelled and the entire building began to crumble. All hell broke loose as everyone stampeded towards the exits. I could barely see over the myriad of people. I was nearly to the exit, and just in time, I might add when I heard a little girl crying from inside the museum. If I ran, I would get out safe and sound… but the girl wouldn't. Turning on my heel, I ran back inside, transforming just in case.


End file.
